The Extra
by Lillyxwhite
Summary: Elliot Black never had a family. So when it's revealed that she is the daughter of Robert and Maryse Lightwood, twin sister to Isabelle, will she find her place? Or will they cast her out because of her blood. (On Hold)
1. Context

Everything in Shadowhunter lore taught them about the mortal instruments, and the powers they possessed. Very few books told them of the Keys, a powerful addition to the mortal instruments, incase the instruments were rendered useless. Only someone of mixed blood, vampire, warlock, seelie, werewolf and Nephilim blood were able to access the power of the keys. So they could not be used for harm against the Downword.

Once the previous Keeper of the Keys died a new child was chosen by fate, or some would say destiny.

Maryse Lightwood just happened to be carrying that new child, along with another.

Maryse and Robert decided to let Valentine experiment on the fetus twins, as he was wondering which one would end up with which blood type, but as the war was coming to a close, Maryse and Robert fled, forgetting entirely what Valentine had subjected their children too.

They soon remembered when Isabelle Lightwood and Elliot Lightwood came into this world, Izzy loud and screaming, Elliot barely breathing and silent. Maryse looked down at the baby and decided to send the experiment to Valentine, after all, she was only an experiment.


	2. Elliot's Arrival

The night was cold and dark; the only sound was that of a baby crying and cars rushing past. Maryse Lightwood runs down the steps of the New York institute carrying her newborn daughter. To the right of the steps a portal opens and Valentine steps out into the streets of New York. Maryse begins to wonder what she is submitting her daughter too, and if it is actually a mistake. However it was too late for her to turn back now.

"Maryse, is this the prized child?"

Maryse begins to shake, "Valentine what do you plan to do with her?"

He laughs, "that is none of your concern now Maryse, you decided to give her to me. I will do with her as I see fit, but fear not, you will see her eventually."

Valentine hold his hands out to Maryse signalling that she needs to hand the child over. After she hands over the child Valentine walks over to the portal, but before he walks into it he turns around.

"Maryse, I hope you understand the immense power this girl will hold when she is older, and I hope you understand how thankful I am that you presented me with her."

With that message ringing in Maryse's ears, Valentine spins on his heel and walks into the portal, it closing with a snap behind him.

11 years later

Sweat drips into my eyes as Jonathan continues to press his training staff against mine, no matter how hard I try I can never seem to get out of this position once he's put me in it. I swing my staff up over his head and turn my back to him, jabbing the end of my staff into his stomach. He groans and steps back, an angry fire beginning to burn in his eyes. I feel anxiety pool in the pit of my stomach but try so hard not to show it that never ends well in this house.

"You are such a bad fighter, the second you leave this house you are going to be murdered." Jonathan sneers.

I smirk, "you've been saying that to me since the moment we started sparing. And look at where we are now."

He looks as if he is about to say something else when Valentine walks in, "Elle you will come with me at once."

I nod and follow him out of the room. We walk down many of the long hallways in this mansion until we finally stop at a set of doors. These doors are familiar to me; this is the room we get punished in. Valentine opens the doors and throws me into the room.

"You have trained enough, your fighting skills are unparralled by all those but Jonathan and Jace. You will remain in this room until further notice, I will have one of the maids slip food under your door when you need it. Goodbye."

He walks out of the door, closing them both with a bang. As I jump I turn around and begin to look over where I will be staying, it is a small room, with a bed against the far wall and one single bookshelf. There is a smaller door on the left wall that I assume leads to a washroom. I decide to lie down on the bed, not knowing what would have happened while I was sleeping.

10 hours later

I awake in the arms of a Shadowhunter, we are on the steps of some church, I have no idea where we are and I begin to squirm in his arms.

"Do not fear child, you will be safe with these people, they are the Lightwoods. They will take care of you."

My vision is hazy and I cannot remember anything, no ideas about who I was with, or how old I was, not even who raised me.

I look up to see a family standing on the top of the steps, 'they look like me' is one of the first thoughts that run through my mind.

"I found them both in the remains of the Wayland manor. This boy remembers his father, the girl does not seem to remember anything, and I do not think she is related to the Wayland boy at all, she bears no resemblance." The man next to me presents me and another boy to the family on the steps.

"We will take them both, and raise them as our own. Thank you for bringing them here, you are dismissed."

That was the moment I met the Lightwoods, only I had no idea what would happen with them in the future, and what I would bring upon them…


	3. The Mortal Cup

I hear Izzy yelling from her room next to mine. We have been assigned a mission and we need to go find out the details. Quickly I pull on a bright blue crop top and navy mini skirt, I shrug on my black leather jacket over top and walk out of my room. Izzy is standing outside my door brushing a white wig.

We walk towards the ops centre and Alec comes along from another hallway, "hey there big bro," Izzy greets him.

"Really?" he looks down at us both with a hint of humour and disapproval in his eyes.

"What can I say, demons dig blondes," she shrugs.

"Of course they do," Alec starts.

"But that's white," I finish, smiling up at Alec.

"I know, and they don't exactly like Shakespeare, okay Alec?" Izzy pokes fun at the outfit her brother is wearing.

"Not like Elle's is any better Iz, but you haven't commented about that yet." Alec gives me a pointed look about the visibility of my runes.

"Whatever Alec, I quite like it even though you don't," Izzy and I flick our hair at him and walk towards Jace.

"Nice choice Izzy, demons dig blondes," he says, implying his own blonde hair is enough to make a demon girl swoon.

Jace turns towards us and I begin to feel quite sick, "Are you okay Elle?"

I nod, "Yeah I'm fine, no big deal."

"Alright guys, our demon friends are killing mundanes and draining their blood."

"Why do they want blood?" Alec asks as we walk towards the training room. "Isn't that vampire territory?"

"I don't know Alec. Lazy vampires maybe?" Jace replies.

I zone out for the rest of the siblings conversation and walk over to the spears. I run my fingertips along the polished wood of the handles, inspecting which one I thought would be good for tonight. I finally chose a shrinking spear, one that sizes down to fit into my pocket. I also grab a couple throwing knives off the shelf and tuck them into the holster on my thigh.

Once Jace, Izzy and Alec have grabbed their seraph blades we head to a computer. It's open to a picture of the shapeshifter. Suddenly a feeling of knowing washes over me and it's like a memory forms from the nothing ness in my head.

 _There are two men standing in my doorway, their faces unrecognizable._

 _"_ _You will learn to realize who is a shapeshifter, and who is not. Twenty lashes on the hand if you get it wrong," one of the men says._

 _"_ _You have two minutes to figure out who is real, and who is not."_

I come back to the present with all three of my friends looking at me with worry etched into their faces.

Alec rests his hand on my shoulder, "are you sure you're okay? You can stay here for this one. I'm sure we could handle it ourselves."

"No I'm fine. We should just focus on the mission at hand," I shrug off Alecs hand.

I turn around and begin to stride towards the elevators, hearing the other three follow me, continuing their conversation. We all pile into the elevator and start our mission.

2 hours later

I push through the crowd of mundanes following our shapeshifter, not noticing, or caring that I've bumped into a mundane.

"Hey can you watch where you're going?" the mundane turns around angrily.

I begin to wonder, and when I try to answer her question I start stammering. Luckily Jace saves me.

"You can see us?" He asks.

She looks at him annoyed and says, "Yeah, that's kind of the point. But you obviously didn't see me."

"You have the Sight?" Jace begins to get frustrated with her.

"Wait the what?" I shake my head, she obviously isn't a Shadowhunter. She has no runes and no weapons.

"How can I not know who you are?" He begins to wonder.

I don't hear her reply as I turn around and head into the club, hoping I haven't lost our demon.

Izzy and I walk around the dance floor, mingling with the dancing sweating bodies that pulsate with the music. I spot the shapeshifter heading towards the VIP area of the club and pull on Izzy's sleeve to get her attention.

After locating the boys we quietly pull aside the curtain and hunt the demon. I pull out my spear, flicking it to the side to it extends to its full length.

Izzy walks up onto a table and pulls off her over coat, she whips off her wig and begins to dance. All the men in the room stand up, mesmerized and Jace, Alec and I move in closer to her.

Jace slips an arm around the shapeshifters waist and whispers into her ear. Alec and I stand around the perimeter watching and waiting for the action to start. I glance over at Alec and see a look of longing on his face, it's no surprise that he doesn't like to see Jace around other girls. It's obvious that Alec has a crush on him, he's just too embarrassed to show it.

The redheaded mundane from earlier walks up to Jace, with questioning written all over her face. Jace activates his seraph blade.

"Watch out!" The mundane screams, pushing the demon onto a nearby couch, that happens to be right next to me.

I step in front of her and watch as she opens her mouth and bites down on my wrist, the hand holding my spear. I groan in pain and start feeling the demon venom spreading through my blood, I grab one of my throwing knives and whip it at her heart. It implants itself into her skin and I watch as she bursts into ash.

I throw my spear at a demon sneaking up on Alec and slump to the ground, my back leaning up against a pillar. The rest of the fight passes by in a haze, and I don't even notice when Alec walks over and picks me up after everything is over. My vision goes black and I go slack in the lulling of Alecs long stride.

3 days later

I wake up in the infirmary, covered up in layers of blankets, the mundane is in here too.

I sit up slowly, "she can't be in here." I mumble out.

I watch as the redhead jolts awake and bangs her head into Izzy's.

Izzy closes her eyes, "ow." She says with a slight smile.

"Wait, I-I don't know you," she looks over at me, "I know you."

"I'm Isabelle, and that's Elliot." I nod my head in her direction.

"I've never seen Jace so curious about a mundane," Iz says with a smirk.

"Or distracted," I mumble.

She nods, "like you saw earlier, distractions are dangerous in our line of work."

" I have no idea what you're talking about. Who's Jace?" The redhead looks around worriedly.

Izzy looks at me and directs her next sentence to the mundane, "You really don't know much do you?"

The girl says something about people capturing her mother and us capturing her.

"You mean saved your life?" I ask.

Alec and Jace walk into the room, Alec comes and sits on my bed, "a mundane shouldn't even be here." He says

"Where is here exactly?"

"She's not a mundane, Alec." Jace gestures.

I slip underneath my covers, not wanting to get involved in this argument.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because the seraph blade lit up when she touched it." Jace sits down on the girls bed.

"I'm Jace, Wayland." He introduces himself.

"I'm," she starts, "Clary, Fray. We know who you are."

"I didn't." I raise my hand and give Jace a pointed look.

Alec gives me a small smile before dropping it when he sees Clary. "Am I the only one who finds this unusual?" He looks at us each in turn and I nod at him.

"You find everything unusual, Alec." Jace says.

Alec helps me out of bed, "I have to report this to the Clave." He says as he helps me stand.

"You know what? Dial it down a notch." I look at Jace surprised.

Izzy stands up and walks over to my other side, wrapping her arm around my waist, "my brother doesn't have a dial."

She looks at him and smiles, "I love you Alec, but you have a switch that's always on."

"I love you too," he replies sarcastically.

Jace sends us all out of the room so he can talk with this Clary girl. Alec and Izzy walk with me out of the room. I split off from them, giving them both a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow."

I walk off to my room, wondering what we have gotten ourselves into by bringing this girl into our lives. And I wonder what that memory about the two men meant. I hope that the memories stop, but I doubt they will.


	4. The Descent Into Hell Isn't Easy

I wake up and stare at the canopy above my bed, wondering what today will bring. With Clary's drama now taking up most of our lives I had no idea what would happen. I pull on a grey sports bra and some black leggings and head for the training room. I always am able to work out my problems, or take my mind off them while throwing hands at a punching bag.

For a couple minutes the only sounds are the sounds of my gloves hitting the bag, until I hear Clary, Jace and a new voice walking throughout the Institute. I try to drone out the sounds of impending drama and instead attempt to focus on my hits.

That all ends when I hear Alec say. "Why is there a mundane in the Institute?"

I rip off my gloves and stride into the ops centre. "What the hell Jace, another one?"

"I'm glad someone else thinks this is crazy." Alec says while Jace gives me a dirty look.

"It was the same people that took my mother." Clary states.

"Circle members." Alec and Jace say at the same time, both looking at me with worry in their eyes.

"We've been forbidden from learning about them since they revolted." I said.

"How can you not learn about them? It's your history." Clary asks.

I give her a pointed look, "Says the girl who didn't know she was a Shadowhunter."

I begin to walk away with Alec, "Yeah, Yeah you're right. And now the only person who knows the truth is missing, so I don't care about your rules what's forbidden, there's got to be someone that can tell us why they've taken my mother." Clary states.

"There is." Jace says.

Alec, Izzy and I walk over to the training room entrance, while Jace explains to the mundane that the runes will kill him. Just to keep him out of our hair.

"Don't worry Clary, I'll watch over the… best friend. In fact, I was about to make breakfast." Izzy smiles.

I wince, "Actually I think the runes will be much safer."

Leaning in to the mundane, sorry, Simon. I whisper "Don't eat the food, it's deadly."

He just anxiously smiles and nods his head at me.

Clary, Jace and I walk up to Hodge. He was training with another one of the Shadowhunters that live here.

"Who is that guy?" Clary asks.

"That's Hodge Starkwheather, our weapons trainer. He's the best." I explain.

"Elle is very close to Hodge," Jace whispers to Clary.

"And more importantly for us, former Circle member." Jace states to us both.

"After the uprising Hodge repented, he was sent to live here to train us, but he's forbidden to ever leave the Institute." I say, watching him defeat the other Shadowhunter.

We step up onto the floor of the sparring area as Hodge pulls on a shirt.

He looks over at Clary, "Jocelyn."

Clary begins to stutter, "I-I'm Clary. Jocelyn Fray is my mother." She says looking at Jace and I.

"Well she was Jocelyn Fairchild when I knew her." Hodge nods as a greeting to me. "And she was one of my best friends."

"She's been kidnapped, by one of Valentines men." Clary says angrily.

"By a Circle member Hodge." I say looking at the man.

He stares at me. "But that's impossible, Valentine's dead, the Circle died with him."

I reach out for him as the circle rune on his neck begins to burn.

"What's happening?" Clary asks.

"I swore a vow never to speak of what we did," he shrugs, "this is the Claves way of making sure I keep that vow."

"We can't torture him Jace, Elliot." She says.

"Hodge you know there's no other way right?" I ask him.

He nods, "if the Circle really is back, they've taken Jocelyn, the leader of the Circle is Valentine Morgenstern." He stops talking, as the rune burns brighter.

"We thought he wanted to protect humans, like all Shadowhunters, but we never realized the lengths at which Valentine was willing to go. The people he was willing to sacrifice. Most of humanity would die if we carried out Valentines plan." He said through his teeth.

"But I still don't understand, how does my mother relate to any of this?" Clary wonders.

"Jocelyn was a member of the Circle as well." I look at Clary, wondering what she is capable of as a member's daughter.

I walk off to find Alec and Izzy, seeing them sit at a monitor watching the police outside the Institute. I've always felt comfortable with them, even if I'm not really their biological family. Even when I first got to the Institute, and didn't remember a thing about whom I was or where I came from, they welcomed Jace and me into their family.

I walk up to them, "Hey guys, long time no see. Where's the mundane?"

Izzy smirks "ran off to the washroom."

Alec rolls his eyes and I smile at him. "Well it's not going to well in there." I nod my head in the direction of the training room.

"I don't care, I imagine Jace will explain it all soon." Alec says stonily.

"What's been going on with you? You've been acting strange again." He says turning to look at me with a much softer look.

"I'm fine Alec, really. Just stressed out." I give them a fake smile.

I see Clary and Jace running towards the exit. I motion to Alec and Izzy and run towards them.

"A soldier, who doesn't understand human emotions who doesn't know what it's like to lose someone. To lose your own mother." She sees me coming. "And you, you think that your little act will hide your emotions, that none of them will see through it and see what a mess you really are."

I step back, "You're right ma'am. I am acting, we all are. I fully understand what it's like to lose people I love. My family died in a fire. I never even remembered them. So you can drop your perfect act."

I storm back into the ops centre and walk directly into Alec. In my haze of anger I never even saw that he was in my way. I look at the ground before he can see the tears that I just noticed were falling. But he tilts my head up to look him in the eye.

"What's wrong Ellicat?" He asks, using the nickname he's had for me since we were kids.

"Nothing." I say wiping the tears off my face. "I'm fine. Clary was just being dramatic."

He pulls me into a hug, a familiar hug, one from my childhood. That reminded me of the good times.

4 hours later

I jog into the training room and see Alec arguing with Carly about her staying at the Institute. She starts fiddling with she necklace and suddenly her eyes go wide and she gasps.

"Weirdly, I think I know where Dot is." Clary says.

Simon pulls out a set of keys, "Great, I'll drive." We all look at each other and at him with blank looks. "What? Unless you have, like a Shadowhunter mobile or something."

I look at my friends and sigh; this is going to be a long night.

We run down an alleyway as Clary worries about her warlock friend being captured by the Circle. We run right through the entrance to Pandemonium, and find an empty club.

"No, she was just trying to help me, and now she's gone." Clary cries.

"It's not safe here. We have to get back to the Institute right now." Alec states.

" So what now? Valentine has my mom and Dot; we're just going to give up? What about my memories, they can't just be gone." She worries.

"There is another option." Jace suggests.

Izzy, Alec and I all know what he is thinking and not one of us thinks it's a good idea.

"Absolutely not."

"Don't even."

"No way in hell."

"I'm not afraid of the Silent Brothers." Jace smirks.

"Who're the Silent Brothers?" Clary asks.

"They're Shadowhunters with superior powers." Jace explains.

"They possess the ability to recover memories," Izzy adds.

"A process that can also kill you, so there's that." Alec says smugly.

I just stand off to the side quietly remembering my visit to the Silent Brothers when I was first taken to the Lightwoods. They could not access my memories, as someone had put to powerful of a block on the, even for the Silent Brothers.

Izzy nudges me, "Are you coming."

I look at her, "Yeah, coming."

A short drive later

We all pile out of the banana coloured van.

"Yeah, this place isn't creepy." Simon says, obviously creeped out. "Not at all."

"Don't tell me you're afraid." Izzy taunts.

Simon scoffs, "Are you kidding? I was born afraid. Which sounded a lot better in my head."

"Spread out," Alec motions for us to go.

I walk to the fire burning in the trash barrel, wondering what exactly the Silent Brothers will dig out of Clary's mind. I guess I wouldn't have to wait for long. Jace and Clary entered the City of Bones. Leaving Alec, Izzy, Simon and I outside to guard the entrance.

"So is mind opening supposed to take this long?" Simon asks after Jace and Clary had been gone for a half hour.

"Jace has it covered." Alec says crossing his arms.

Izzy twirls her hair; "Take my word for it, or Elliot's. The Silent Brothers are quite unpleasant." I nod.

"That's not helping, not at all." He worries.

"Relax Simon, it'll be over soon." I tell him.

"You're in a band aren't you?" Izzy asks. "What type of music? Wait let me guess, Indie Rock. Got anything on your phone?"

"I do, I recorded our last set. We killed it." Simon smiles. " I left my phone in the van."

"Let's go get it then music boy." I smile at him and Izzy, sort of interesting in his music.

Simon is digging through the van trying to find his phone when both Iz and I hear a noise.

"You go, I'll stay with Simon." I tell Izzy to check it out.

She points at Simon, "don't move."

Before I know what's happened a hand has clamped down on my mouth and ropes were being tied around my wrists and ankles.

"Don't move Shadowhunter, or this will turn out badly for you and your mundane."

I nod my head slowly, and gasp as I feel the whipping of wind on my face; suddenly I'm hanging head first off the bridge that runs over the City of Bones. Simon is dangling next to me. I look up at our captors and roll my eyes. It's Raphael, and another vamp from Camille's outfit.

I hear the scuttling of feet far below us, "Simon!" I hear Clary yell.

"Elliot!" Alec, Izzy and Jace yell.

"Is that the mundanes name?" Raphael yells down at them.

"Hi guys." I say with a worried look on my face.

"I'm afraid Simon's coming with us." He says. "Along with this beautiful Shadowhunter."

Alec and Jace step forwards as if that would protect me from the vampire.

"No, no he's not apart of this." Clary cries.

"It'll be my pleasure to kill you unless you return them." Jace spits out.

Alec holds out his hand in warning, "careful, we'd be violating the Accords."

"I'm afraid your sidekicks quite right, the Night Children have broken no laws. We're negotiating. The mundane, the nephilim, unharmed, in exchange for the Mortal Cup."

Raphael gives them his demands. And pulls me up to him, kissing my neck. I squirm knowing this is just a show to get the boys angry.

"Don't give it to them guys!" Raphael covers my mouth with his hand.

"And the clock is ticking. Tick tock people."

I hear Simon yell, "Clary!" Before we are sped away.

I know this cannot turn out well, for either of us.


	5. Dead Man's Party

**Elliot's POV**

The vampires take us to their home base, the Hotel DuMort. Raphael leads Simon and I over to a group of vamps that are just standing around.

"Jasper, take the mundane down to the cells. She'll want to speak with him. I'm taking the Shadowhunter up to my own. Leave us be." Raphael yells orders at the Night Children and they all jump into action.

He leans down to whisper in my ear, "you are coming with me, my dear."

A shiver runs down my spine at his words, Shadowhunters and Night Children aren't exactly friends. He drags me up the stairs and throws me into a room. After tying my hands to a table leg behind me, he sits on the floor in front of me.

"What do you want with me?" I snarl. "I don't have the cup, so why'd you take me too?"

"You will find all this out in good time, do not worry. We have big plans for you."

He stands and walks out of the room, giving me a condescending smile as he closes and locks the door behind him. I begin to wonder what he means by 'we have big plans for you.' I am nothing special, to any race.

 **Izzy's POV**

We storm back into the Institute, thoughts racing through my head about why they would want to take Elliot with them, or was it just being in the wrong place at the wrong time?

"I still don't understand, how could Shadowhunters be better than what you people call 'mundanes'?" Clary asks frustrated.

"It's cause we protect humans." I say, trying not to sound angry with the redhead.

"Right, humans. You protect humans. You left Simon all alone in the van. Great job guys, you rock." She grumbles.

"Actually, I left him with Elliot." I correct.

She shrugs, "And look where that got them."

"There is some truth to the idea that human beings should have a modicum of common sense."

I look at my brother, "Alec, not now."

"Look they won't do anything to Simon. They just wanted to draw you out. They want the cup and they think you have it." Jace gives Clary a calming look. "However I'm not so sure about Elliot's safety." He says to Alec and I.

"But why do they think that! Why does anyone think that? What, my mom lies to me my entire life, except oh, by the way there's this magic cup that I hid on like the planet Bongo but don't tell anyone." Clary yells.

We all look at her as she sighs, "What am I supposed to do now?"

Alec rolls his eyes and walks into the ops centre. "We have to report to the Clave. They have to know what we've learned about Valentine."

I walk behind Jace, Clary and Alec, thinking up all the different strategies we could use to get Elle out of the hotel, none of them could work without a Clave resolution though, and that won't be easily gotten.

 **Alec's POV**

"What? That he's my father?" I hear Clary say snootily behind me. "Great, fine tell them. What good does that do Simon?" She crosses her arms. "Or Elliot, I guess?"

"Clary, it's all connected. The vamps want the Cup." I can feel Jace's frustration through our parabatai bond. I was honestly beginning to get frustrated myself with this girl.

First she get's Elle hurt, and almost Jace in the process, then we take her out of the Institute, breaking eighteen Clave rules. And after taking her to the Silent Brothers, we find out she's Valentine's daughter, and she gets one of my friends kidnapped. That's a lot to be frustrated about.

"Why? It makes new Shadowhunters." She says not understanding.

I blink, "Nobody wants Valentine forming an army loyal to himself."

"Also, it controls demons." Izzy adds solemnly.

"They'll propose a trade, Simon and Elliot for the Cup." Jace explains.

I watch Clary's eyes cloud with doubt, "So the vampires will trade Simon for the Cup. And Valentine will trade my mother for the Cup." She starts backing away. "Either way I lose someone I love."

None of us know what to say to her, but we're all thinking the same thing. It's not only Simon that's on the line.

 **Elliot's POV**

After what feels like a decade Raphael comes back into the room, and he's not alone.

"Camille." I snarl.

She bends down and runs her fingertips along my cheek. "Well, well. If it isn't little Elliot Black. It's been along time my truffle; I remember when you had your first mission into this Hotel. I can still feel the spear tip in my leg. I wanted you to feel the same thing, so you would think twice about doing it again." She snaps her fingers and Raphael comes forward, holding a small spear tip.

He looks into my eyes, with a sorry smile, before pushing the spear tip into my leg. The pain isn't like anything I've felt before, I wonder briefly if Camille's poisoned it. Before I can go to pull it out of my thigh, Camille leans down and yanks it out roughly. I gasp and try to hold back a scream of pain.

Camille licks some of my blood off the arrow tip, "Hmm, you are a special on aren't you."

She spins on her heel and walks out the door, motioning for Raphael to follow.

"I'm sorry." He whispers into my ear.

They both leave the room again, locking the door behind them, and leaving me to bleed out onto the carpet.

 **Jace's POV**

We're all crowded around the table, discussing our next move to rescue the mundane and Elle.

"Do you have a better one? Look, the vamps broke the Accords, they kidnapped a Mundie. That's a big no no. The Clave will give us a lecture and they'll be glad we did it. Come on." I suggest.

Izzy nods and smiles at the prospect of a fight, "Hard to argue with that."

"Even if we went ahead, I don't see how we'd get out of here without explaining where we're going. We need weapons, and we can't let anyone see us get them." Alec's got a good point.

I wink at Clary, "I know where to get what we need."

We're wandering around a graveyard looking for Mary Milligan's grave. Suddenly Clary calls us all over to show that she's found the right grave. I slide my stele over the rune on the top and the grave opens to reveal a cache of weapons. We all grab what we need except for Alec, there is no bow, and he has to rune some arrows as he starts to walk away I stop him.

"How're you going to get back into the Institute?"

He shrugs, "I'll go in the back, they won't bother me if I'm alone."

"Good, go. I'll finish up here." I say quickly.

"Hey, I understand what we need to do, and I trust you, parabatai. But don't ever doubt me, no matter what I said. I know we need to get Elliot, Camille holds grudges too long."

We grab hand and smile at each other before Alec walks to the Institute.

 **Clary's POV**

I watch as Alec walks away, wondering why Elliot is so important to them, she seems like just another member of their team, not anyone special. I quickly glance down at the blade in my hand as Jace walks up to me.

He sighs, "Okay, now let me show you how to use this thing. You're a Shadowhunter, so it wants to respond, but you have to be firm with it. Let it know who's boss."

I can feel his breath tickling the hairs on the back of my neck, he's so close. He wraps his hand around mine and shows me how to swing the seraph blade properly. I start to think that I'm getting the hang of this whole shadowhunting business.

"It's saying you belong together." He whispers.

"How does it know? " I ask in wonder.

"Cause you're part angel, Clary. Like all Shadowhunters."

He thrusts the blade forward and it's like there's a ripple in the air, showing the power that I now have to learn to harness.

"You understand?" He says quietly.

I turn my head slightly and smile at him, "Not even a little."

"You'll get there." He pulls away slightly. "It's not something you understand in your mind, it's something you know, cause it's pulsing through your body." He steps away and watches me. "It's in your blood."

I alone thrust the sword forward, and the air ripples around the tip of the blade, I smile, "Can I even do this without you?"

"You just did."

"But it felt you were still with me." I say in amazement.

He puts his hand on my shoulder and turns me to face him, "I am. I will be."

We step close together, our noses almost touching, "We-we will be, here for you." He corrects.

As he walks off I smile, this seemed like it was going somewhere, now all I have to do is get him to show his feelings.

I walk up to the grave. "How do you know they'll come back?"

He looks at me with a smirk, "Who? Alec and Izzy? We were raised together, they're practically my brother and sister."

I get curious about Elliot suddenly, "And what about Elliot?"

Jace suddenly gives me a stony look, "She was brought to the Lightwoods with me, we were in the same house when it burned down, though she isn't a Wayland, and therefore she has the last name Black. She couldn't remember anything before the fire either."

"Oh, you guys all seem so close." I say.

"Alec and I are parabatai. There's no human bond that compares to what Alec and I have. We're bound to fight together for life. In battle, our hearts beat as one, if one of us were to die, a part of the other would die too." He explains solemnly. "He'll be here Clary."

"You ready?"

"I'm ready."

 **Elliot's POV**

Everything seems a lot fuzzier now; I know the blood loss is affecting me. I can't help but wonder if they've saved the mundane already and just locked me in here for the rest of my life.

Raphael walks into the room and unties me, "Alright Keeper. It's time for you to come downstairs and join the rest of us."

I struggle slightly but can't move too much because of the injury in my leg. "Oh right, that spearhead, was coated in poisoned vampire venom, you'll burn, be in pain and then crawl back craving more."

He looks at me with a sad look in his eyes, "She's turned you into a slave."

I don't say anything as he drags me downstairs; I hear shouts and wonder what is going on, if they've come to save the mundane.

It's like Raphael could hear my thoughts, "Don't you dare say a word." He nicks my neck with one of his fangs, "Do you understand me?"

I nod carefully and slowly. He pulls me into a room filled with gold objects and gold couches. Simon's sitting down and Camille is pacing the room, I look at Simon and he looks at me with worry.

'Are you okay?' He mouths.

'No.' is all I can imitate back.

He stands up to run and yells, "Clary, I'm here!"

Raphael drops me to the floor and grabs Simon, pulling out a knife and pressing it against his throat.

He looks down at me, "Sorry I dropped you, you'll be fine down there? Right?"

I can't answer him through the fire of pain burning through my body.

"Don't move, I know you want to find out how this story ends," He says to Simon with a laugh.

"Thank you Raphael. I'll take care of this from here." Camille says carelessly.

"You don't have to bother." He says.

She glances down at me angrily, "No honestly. I've had it with this thing. Give it to me, I'll finish it off."

I growl, "Don't you dare."

"We have a bigger problem. They're almost here and you can't be caught. You're too valuable. Don't worry, I'll kill them." Raphael assures her.

"That's excessive yeah?" Simon says.

Raphael looks at Camille, "Take the back passage down to the tunnels. Go!"

Camille turns on her heel and runs out of the room, leaving just me, Simon and Raphael. Still holding a blade to Simons throat.

"Now listen, and do exactly as I say." He motions for me to stand up.

I try and he grabs onto the ropes tying me together. "Nothing more."

"They're coming."

I almost cry out in relief. Suddenly Clary, Jace, Izzy and Alec all pour into the room, Alec notching an arrow. I look at Jace with pleading eyes, hoping that he'll notice the situation I'm in with my leg. I think he sees because he whispers to Izzy and she looks me up and down.

"Simon!" Clary yells running forward.

Jace grabs her arm to pull her back, "Clary. Stop."

"Listen to him, Clary Fairchild, put it away." He says referring to her blade.

"I've had more than enough of your friend for one day, however," He pulls me closer to him with his fangs near my neck, "I would like to keep this one for just a bit longer."

I hear Jace and Alec growl as I groan with the pain of standing on my leg, hoping that this will end soon so I can sit down.

"I'd love to cut his throat, and bite hers. Don't give me a reason."

Jace steps towards us with his sword drawn and Raphael jerks me back. "Put it away!"

Everyone lowers their weapons, and I look at the ground with a silent prayer to gods ever.

"Simon, Simon are you alright?" Clary asks him angrily.

"I wouldn't say alright," But before he can finish his sentence Raphael moves the knife closer to his throat.

"Stop talking." He looks at the nephilim with wide eyes. "Now, if you all would just, follow me."

He begins to back away, dragging Simon and me with him. As we get near the door he yells, "Let's go!"

I watch as Iz and Alec begin to walk quickly towards us, and soon Clary and Jace follow. The vampire pulls Simon and I around the corner and up a flight of stairs, we're in an area of the Hotel with a bunch of pipes and machinery.

Once we get to the top of the stairs Raphael starts yelling again, "Come on, let's go! Up here. Now!"

He pulls us into a corner and we watch as they all go around us.

"That's right, get down there now! Get down there or I'll kill them right now."

Clary tries to run to Simon but Jace holds her back, "We're not going to hurt you, we just want Simon and Elliot."

"I'm glad you do. We don't. We wanted you."

We follow them to the end of the hallway.

"Well here I am!" Clary says angrily.

"Stop!" Jace pushes her towards Alec and Izzy.

"I said wanted, not my idea, now get out. GO!"

We've reached the end of the hallway, Izzy and Alec half way out a door that leads onto the roof. I can barely keep up, so I stumble and fall. Raphael releases Simon and pulls me up, putting the knife to my throat.

"Not without Elliot." Izzy says.

"Shut up!" Get out that door or I'll kill her right now I swear." Raphael yells at the group.

As I shut my eyes I hear Jace yell, "Listen to him!"

"But Elliot will die," Clary counters.

As the sunlight reaches us Raphael begins to burn and hides behind nearby pipes, using me as a shield.

"Jace, go!" I say loudly.

"Go. Go, go, go." Jace pushes Clary out of the door.

Even though I told them to leave, it still hurts knowing that they would. Just before Jace exits the building Raphael take the knife from my throat and pushes me forward.

"Take her. Go."

I stumble into Jace's arms, thankful that I can take weight off my injured leg.

Before we step outside Raphael yells," Jace Wayland, Elliot Lightwood. Remember who your friends are."

Jace nods and pulls me outside, slamming the door behind us. Once we get onto the roof I crumple, crying out in pain. Izzy comes over pulling out her stele. She quickly draws an Iratze on my leg, it helped mute the pain and heal my wound over.

"It's okay now, you're going to be okay."

I wonder though, is it really? Two things keep racing through my mind:

What is the 'Keeper' and why did Raphael call me that. And what did he mean by Elliot Lightwood. Was it a slip if the tongue?


	6. Raising Hell

_My tiny feet cannot carry me down the hallway fast enough, the man chasing me is too quick, yet the fear in my little heart is telling me I have to run faster, to hide soon._

 _"Come back Elliot, and the punishment will be less severe, you're only making this worse on yourself."_

 _I whimper and look around at the doors I'm rushing past, knowing that if I turn around that it would be the end for me. The pain of past punishments burning into my brain, reminding me what happened last time I turned around._

 _I feel large hands clamp down on my shoulders, stopping my toddler body in its tracks. I let out a scream._

I awake in a tangle of bed sheets and hair that's come undone from its bun. Izzy and Alec are standing at my bedside, looking down at me with guarded gazes.

"What?" I ask still half asleep.

Izzy pulls my duvet off of me, "We might have found a lead on the Mortal Cup."

I jump out of bed and run to the washroom door, "Got it, give me 10 minutes.

"Alright. Meet us in the ops centre when you're ready." I hear Alec call.

I run a brush through my hair and jump in the shower, I try to wash off the feeling of being chased as the cold water drips down my back. Once I feel clean enough I race out of the shower and pull on some clothes. A deep red crop top and black jeans, with my brown leather jacket and combat boots.

I run into the ops centre and take me place next to Izzy as Hodge begins to introduce us to Magnus Bane, the person who wiped Clary's memories.

"Magnus Bane. He's over three hundred years old, and as you can see, he's not exactly shied away from the pleasures of every century. His tastes are both exquisite and quite excessive." Hodge flicks through a slideshow of pictures showing Magnus over indulging himself.

"He looks like the Downworlds David Guetta." Clary says.

Izzy and I smile at each other," Guetta's already a Downworlder. A vampire." She starts.

"Ever seen him in the daylight?" I ask.

"Can you three focus? This is not a joke." Alec says seriously.

I smirk, "Someone needs to get slayed."

"Alec's right." Hodge gives me a look, " Magnus is one of the most powerful warlocks I've ever known, and he has a deep mistrust of Shadowhunters."

"Well than why did he help my mom remove my memories? Isn't she a Shadowhunter?" Clary asks.

I stand up and take the tablet from Hodge. "Help might not be the most accurate word. Did Magnus provide a service for Jocelyn? Perhaps. But more than likely, your mother paid Magnus handsomely for his magic."

Jace sits down next to Alec. "Warlocks usually require payment before they help anyone with anything."

Alec pipes up, "Word from the Clave is that most of the warlocks have gone into hiding. Since Valentine began hunting them."

"Valentine would be searching for the warlock who aided Jocelyn…" Hodge stops talking as his rune begins to burn at the mention of Valentine.

"Hodge, your rune." Clary says, the rest of us rolling our eyes at her statement. "You okay?"

He nods. "So how do we find Magnus?" She asks.

"We don't." Jace and I say simultaneously. "Magnus finds us." He finishes.

"We'll set up a meeting, somewhere protected. Lure him out of hiding," I suggest.

Izzy jumps up and takes the tablet from me. "And I know exactly where we do it." She pulls up an invitation to a Downworlder party.

"A Downworld rave, nice Izzy." Jace smiles.

Alec's eyes blaze, "And where did you get that?"

"During my surveillance of the Downworlders, from what I hear Magnus likes to party." She smirks at Alec.

"He'll never go for it, not with Valentine trying to kill him," Alec counters.

Jace smiles, "Of course he will, he'll blend in. Hide in plain sight."

"I don't know." Clary starts.

Before she can finish her though Izzy steps in, "Trust me, if Magnus is coming out of hiding, he's going to one of the biggest parties of the year."

"Never under estimate Magnus's hedonism. Or his greed," Hodge begins to walk away from us into the training room.

He waves his stele over a locking rune in the floor of the training room. A storage unit rises out of the floor. Hodge pulls out a necklace, it's beautiful, and then closes the unit in the floor.

Izzy blinks rapidly in amazement, "Is that real?"

"Four karat unheated Burmese ruby. Now, this necklace has special meaning to Magnus Bane, it was a gift from him, to his then lover, Camille Belcourt."

My blood seems to freeze in my veins and I step back as Clary asks, "Camille and Magnus were lovers?"

"Warlock gets around." Jace grins at Clary.

Hodge continues on with his explanation, seemingly unaware of the flirting going on, "Magnus bought it in 1857, for the price of his London townhouse. The jewel is enchanted by a spell that alerts the wearer to the presence of demons."

Izzy cups her hand around the pendant, "It's so beautiful."

"Magnus has longed to reunite with this necklace. Offer it to him, he might just take the bait."

I turn around quickly, "I'll send Magnus a fire message to arrange the meeting."

I can feel their stares on my back as I exit the training room quickly, hoping that I wouldn't have to run into Camille again.

I stride out of my room dressed for a rave, per Izzy's commandments. I'm in a forest green dress, with cut outs on the side, lace up black gladiator sandals and a black cropped leather jacket.

I walk down the corridor to Izzy's room, as I near the doorway I see Jace coming down the hallway, instead of waiting, he just walks right in.

"Someone's looking badass."

I roll my eyes and walk in after him.

"Thanks," Clary says blushing.

"She cleans up well. I'm going to go see Alec, he never knows what to wear to these things." As Iz leaves she grabs my arm, pulling me with her.

Iz and I walk straight into Alec's room, not even knocking. She sits me down on his bed and stands in front of me. Alec stands next to his sister, already dressed in party clothes.

"Well Alec's already dressed, so I guess we can leave." I start to stand up, recognizing the familiar 'interrogation' format I've been placed in.

Alec forces me back down on the bed. "Not until we've gotten some answers."

"He's right. All three of us are here now. You're stuck."

I roll my eyes and fall back onto the bed as Jace walks into the room.

"I have nothing to say?" I try, knowing full well that it won't be good enough.

"We haven't seen you act this way since you first got here." Izzy says, trying not to let worry into her words.

I sit up and cross my arms. "What do you want me to say?"

"Everything." All three of them reply.

I look at my lap. "Okay."

"Okay?" Alec says.

I take a deep breath, "I've gotten some of my memories back."

"Like what?" Jace pushes.

"Like two me standing outside my bedroom door saying they'll whip me if I can't see which is a shapeshifter, or being chased down a hallway by a man threatening to chain me up for a week."

Alec stares at me, "You think these are from before you came here?"

"When else could they be from? Maryse and Robert never threatened me like that." I shrug.

"That's not all, is it?" Izzy can read me too well.

I look her deep in the eyes. "No it's not."

They all take a step closer to me, "Well."

"When I was with the vamps Raphael called me the 'Keeper', and when we were leaving he called me Elliot Lightwood, when in the beginning he called me Elliot Black, like is proper."

Jace pulls me to my feet, "We'll figure it out, don't worry."

I nod, and follow the group out of the room, trying to get in the mind set for a rave.

I near the entrance to the weapons room I can hear Alec and Izzy having a conversation. I don't want to eavesdrop, but I also need to get my spear.

"Until Clary got here, every day was the same. Go on a mission, kill demons, go on a mission, kill demons. At least now things are interesting." I hear Izzy grumble.

"Interesting. Valentine is alive and actively seeking the Cup. He threatens our entire world, and we're helping his daughter. Not to mention everything going on with Elliot." Alec says frustrated.

I take that as the perfect time to walk into the room. I quickly walk over to the rack of spears and grab mine, flicking it down to fit into my pocket. I rush out not wanting to hear the rest of their conversation.

We stride around the club searching for Magnus Bane, my hand hasn't left my spear since we arrived, Jace suddenly spots Magnus.

"Magnus!" He yells, I roll my eyes as I walk behind Clary up to Magnus.

"Clary Fairchild, you've grown into a beautiful young woman." He says, eyes straying below her face.

"Magnus Bane. So you're the one who stole my memories." Clary says, contempt leaking into her voice.

He shakes his finger, "At your mothers request. She knew the risk. Show me the jewellery, Shadowhunter."

Jace holds out the necklace, but then pulls it back before Magus can grab it. "Give Clary back her memories, then you get the jewellery."

Something about this whole exchange doesn't seem right, but I just cross my arms and stay silent.

"I have to confirm its authenticity." Jace reluctantly drops the pendant into Magnus's palm.

He turns the pendant around, showing the engraved Amor written there. "Amor de rus un quan de moritu. True love cannot die. Oh how I've missed this jewel."

"Now it's your turn to pay up." Clary steps forward.

"I wish I could retrieve your memories, but I no longer have them. "

"What?" Clary asks. "Where are they?"

"I fed them to a memory demon for safe keeping." Magnus shrugs.

"Why the hell would you do that?" I step forward.

Magnus looks me up and down then drops his hands. "To protect Clary and the Cup. If Valentine ever captured me, he could torture Clary's memories out of me. Just like he tortured Dot."

"Dot? Wait is Dot okay?" Worry clouds Clary's eyes.

"You don't know? Dot is dead."

I step away from the conversation, hoping to find Alec and Izzy. I feel the cold tip of a seraph dagger press into my lower back.

"Valentine has been looking for you. He will be pleased that we found you." The unknown stranger whispers.

My blood freezes. "Why is he looking for me?"

"Because you are the weapon to have." He laughs.

"Watch out!" I hear Alec yell as an arrow comes whistling past my ear, embedding into the man behind me.

He runs up to me, "You okay?"

I nod, not saying anything and we run back to Jace and Clary.

"Where's Magnus?" I ask, trying to keep my voice from shaking.

Clary looks at me with contempt in her eyes, "He's gone. Back into hiding."

We all walk out of the club into the cool New York air. It's quiet out here, good to clear the head.

"Clary we have to move." I hear Jace urging Clary to walk faster.

"Catching my breath." She says angrily.

I sit down on the pavement and watch as Alec and Jace start fighting.

"This is great. And not only did Magnus not get the girl her memories back, he took the necklace, this is fantastic."

"Alec, the girl? Her name is Clary and I highly suggest you keep your voice down."

I close my eyes for a moment, trying to block everyone out, however lack of sleep takes hold of my body, and I rest against the wall. Falling slowly into a dreamless sleep.

Izzy shakes me awake and helps me to stand up. " We found Magnus" She smiles. "Let's go."

"Magnus lives in a warehouse?" Clary asks sceptically as we slowly enter the building.

Alec rolls his eyes. "I highly doubt it, now shh."

I pull out my spear and flick it to the side, allowing the adamas transform it into a full-length samburu spear.

"Magnus's lair is just behind that fence," Jace gestures to the fence with his seraph blade.

Izzy holds up her hand warn us. "Something's wrong. It was far to easy to get this close."

"His protective wards must be down." I shake my head. "We aren't alone."

"You." Alec looks Clary directly in the eyes. "Don't get in the way."

Two people start fighting up by the entrance to Magnus's lair. I pull my stele out of the holster on my thigh and quickly draw a speed and agility rune. I walk backwards a few steps and take off running, doing a cartwheel onto the platform. I run after the Circle member that just killed the warlock, and begin fighting him, spear on blade.

His blade clangs down against the middle of my spear, I twist and jab to the left as he spins around me, I manage to lock his arms behind his back and knock him in the back of the head, making him fall unconscious.

Another man comes up behind me and slashes across my back. I hiss in pain and hear Alec shoot an arrow into his neck. I nod to indicate that I'm fine and rush inside Magnus's apartment. He's fighting with a Circle member; Alec shoots him in the leg while Magnus fires a bolt of energy at him.

"Well done." Alec says, smiling.

Magnus still has his back turned to us, "More like medium rare." He turns around to face Alec. "I'm Magnus, I don't think we've been formally introduced."

Alec's smile is a big as I've ever seen it. "Alec." He starts to stutter and looks back at me.

I limp up and shake Magnus's hand. "Elliot."

Magnus waves his other hand and with a puff of blue smoke my back feels ten thousand times better.

"We should join the party." Magnus continues to smile at Alec.

Alec and I run out of the room to meet up with our siblings.

Izzy and I giggle watching Alec be completely unaware of Magnus's advances. We both know Alec has a thing, about playing for the opposite team. He just won't tell anyone yet.

We walk into a room with a chalk pentagram, "Someone will have to stay to the side for this one. Magnus suggests.

I step back, "I will, I'll see you guys back at the Institute."

I lean into Alec, "Good luck. Don't kill her."

We talked about what happened in the Hotel DuMort, I wish I'd never told them about what Raphael called me, at least I kept the vampire venom poison that ran through my bloodstream to myself. I'm never going to tell them any of that either. They'd all freak out.

After taking a long nap, I decide to go look through the library. On one of the computers I enter 'Keeper' as a keyword. About a hundred books appear and I sigh.

"This is going to be more work than I thought."


	7. Moo Shu to Go

"How'd it go?" I ask Izzy, going to sit down on her bed.

She flops gracefully next to me, "Not good. We didn't get her memories back?"

"What?"

"Yeah, Alec freaked because the memory of the person he loves the most was Jace, so the circle was broken."

I stand up and hold out my hand to help her up. "Well, we'll have to do this without them then."

We both sigh and walk out of Izzy's room and down the hallway. We spot Clary sitting on a bench in the corridor. Izzy stops to talk to her and I keep walking, heading towards the training room. Jace comes up beside me in workout clothes and we nod at each other, smiling to ourselves with the excitement of getting to kick each other's asses once again.

Jace throws me a training sword and smirks, "It's been so long since you've used a sword. Let's see if you still can."

I rush towards him, raising my blade up to meet with his, "It's second nature."

We spar for a couple more minutes sweating and panting until I get the upper hand and knock Jace's legs out from under him. I point the sword at his neck, "Apparently I still can."

I help him stand up and I smirk, not noticing that Maryse has walked into the training room. I stand perfectly still.

"Maryse," Jace smiles and walks over to hug her. "It's good to see you. How's everyone in Idris? Where's Max?"

Maryse nods coolly at me, "Elliot."

"Maryse."

Izzy comes to stand next to me, "No Max, just mom with her hair on fire."

"I love how Shadowhunters share, brother in a secret country and a private portal." I roll my eyes at Clary's comment.

Alec walks in and greets his mom, "Mother, you're back. I didn't expect you." He kisses Maryse on the cheek.

She looks over at me. "You should be prepared, whether you're expecting me or not."

"I am. We are." Alec looks around at all of us.

"We'll talk about the Institute later. Right now we have a bigger problem." Maryse begins to walk around us. "The seelies have stopped communicating with the Clave, and won't explain why. My guess is, they're still upset we asked them to send scouts to look for Valentine, but no one in their realm will talk."

"I have seelie friends." Izzy suggests.

"Yes, I know about your friends." Maryse gives her a look of disdain. "Isabelle, we stay separate from the Downworld for good reasons. The wrong move, the wrong word, do you think there's such a thing as harmless rebellion? Who knows what offends these creatures. Maybe you told him, them something they shouldn't know, maybe you trod on one of their ridiculous customs without knowing it."

Jace steps forward, "Wait, wait I don't understand. You're laying all this on Izzy for having a friend in the Downworld?"

Maryse steps past Jace and stands in front of me. "When someone upsets the natural order, everything falls apart."

"Natural order?" Clary pipes up. "What're you saying?"

"I can help." Izzy states. "I know how to talk to seelies."

"She's right." I say quietly.

Alec backs me up. "We should visit with Meliorn, see what he knows, we'll go with her if you want." He says, signalling I would go too.

"I'd rather Jace goes along this time." She says putting a hand on his shoulder. "Alec, Elliot you two stay with the Fairchild girl. I want her under control, she's caused enough trouble already."

"Well maybe that's because I wasn't even a Shadowhunter until a few days ago."

I want to warn Clary not to back talk Maryse when she's like this. I love my mother, but sometimes, she is scary. And even more so when I know she heard about what happened with the vampires.

"And what an exciting few days it has been." She says, no emotion in her voice. "The Clave counts on us Lightwoods to maintain order here."

"You don't need to tell me that. The mission is important to the Clave; I would prefer to be the one that goes with Isabelle. Elliot will be perfectly fine watching Clary on her own." Alec says.

I nod, but Maryse has other ideas. "You all are so eager to do what you prefer, it's time to face the truth, life is not about what you want to do it is about what must be done, and Elliot could not handle Clary on her own since she couldn't even handle one single vampire. Now you and you with me. Now." She points at Jace and Izzy, walking away.

She leaves Alec and I standing there angrily, neither of us wanting to be left watching Clary.

"I'm sorry about what she said about you." Clary rubs my arm.

I pull away from her. "I'm not. She was right."

Alec and I walk away to go finish filing mission reports, leaving Clary standing there speechless.

-/-

I walk into the weapons room to see Clary and Alec sparring, he keeps teaching her different moves, and I don't want to interrupt. I lean against the railing with my arms crossed and watch them. Eventually, as I was expecting, Alec drops her on her ass, I laugh silently. I slink over to the rack of weapons trying to place my spear back in its spot without them seeing me, unfortunately, Alec sees me.

"You have to watch her too Elicat."

I spin around and smile brightly. "Why of course, I'll be sure to take her out for mani's and pedi's and I'm sure we'll end up best friends." I drop the smile so I frown again.

Alec smirks at me, and then our phones start to ring.

"Raphael?" I say surprised.

"Hello, Elliot. Would you like to go for drinks some time?"

I look around and notice that Clary's gone. "I-I uh yeah sure. Text me a date. Got to go."

I hang up the phone and grab my spear off of the rack it was just placed on. This girl is more trouble than she's worth.

-/-

"What's the point in an invisibility rune if you don't silence your phone?" Alec asks angrily.

I glare at the redhead, "Why couldn't you just stay in the Institute. You've gotten us into enough trouble already."

She digs through her bag until she finds her phone, completely ignoring us both, "Simon hey, I know. I should have called you right back, are you okay?"

I lean in to Alec, "We have to get her back to the Institute, or Maryse will have our heads."

"I know."

I walk over to her, "Hang up. That's it we have to go. Right now."

She looks at me, "No, I'm on my way to the loft, There's something there that I think could help my mother." She says to Simon. She pauses. "I'm fine, I'm with Alec and Elliot."

She hangs up and puts her phone back in her bag. "To the loft kids."

Alec and I look at each other in frustration.

"Okay."

-/-

We push into Clary's old loft, it's a mess. There seemed to have been a fire, erasing everything the Circle could use to track Clary. I signal to Alec telling him I'm going to mind the perimeter. Not ten minutes later does Alec come running for me.

"Elliot! We need to go. Clary and the mundane were taken." He yells.

"Where Alec, where did they go?"

"I'm not sure, it was an unmarked car."

I look at him and cross my arms. "Call Jace."

"I texted him." He shakes his head. "I'm going back inside."

I follow him up the trellis and back into Clary's apartment. I pick up the box with the initials J.C, and hand it to him. "Here. She wouldn't want us to forget this."

He grabs it from me and Jace and Izzy burst into the room.

"Where is she? Where's Clary?" Jace says in a dangerously low whisper.

I step in front of Alec, not wanting their bond to be put under any more stress. "She's gone."

"What'd you mean gone?" Izzy steps up to me.

I shrug. "She and Simon were arrested, while I was securing the entrance. I got distracted."

"The mundane was here?"

"Simon? He's gone too?" Izzy and Jace both stare at me in disbelief.

I look at the ground. "It was an unmarked car. I-I don't know where they took her."

"What did you do Elliot." Jace stands toe to toe with me.

I sigh and look at the ceiling. Jace walks quickly out of the room, Alec giving me a grateful look as he follows.

'Thank you.' He mouths, assuming the reason why I took the heat.

I nod and follow Izzy out of the room. She's not likely to talk to me anytime soon.

-/-

After none of the attempts at tracking work, Izzy gets a text.

"Just like I thought, she wasn't arrested."

I take a step back and scan for all the possible escape routes once Jace blows up.

"It was your job to look after her!" He yells at me.

I shrink back slightly, "I tried Jace, I did."

"Maybe this is why your family left you in a burning building."

I hear sharp intakes of breath of Izzy and Alec and a funny new feeling flows through me. I feel a sharp pain in my lip and when I brush my hand against it, my two canines are longer and sharper, just like vamps.

"And what does that say about you? You were left in the same goddamn building I was in!" I yell back.

"Except my parents loved me enough to die in that fire! We don't even know who your real parents are!"

I take a few steps backwards and hear Izzy yell Jace's name sharply.

"That's enough. We need to find Clary."

I nod stiffly, the feeling of pain in my lip receding. What the hell even was that?

-/-

A call from Simon told us that they were at the Jade Wolf on the pier at Greene Street, the walk there was quiet and tense. Izzy and I walk around to the back and find Simon in the basement. Izzy pulls the grate off the window with her whip and I help Simon clamber out. The smoke from the fire he started billows out after him.

Clary and Simon meet in a hug, and Clary asks Alec about the box.

"Wait Simon whatever you do, do not make any fast moves." Izzy warns him as we all from a circle around Clary and him.

I pull out two of my throwing knives from my thigh holster and prepare myself for a fight.

"Everyone get back that's the Alpha leader!" Jace yells.

As the alpha starts to run towards us a different wolf jumps down from a shipping crate and begins to fight the alpha. The fight continues until there is a flash of light and a whimper from one of the wolves.

"The alpha's dead." I say. As the other wolf walks our from behind a stack of pallets. He transforms back into his human form and Clary seems to know him. He's bleeding from all sorts of wounds and he falls over.

Jace walks over to me. "Go back to the Institute with Alec and Isabelle. And get out of my way."

I spin on my heel and begin the long run home. Back to where I'm sure Maryse has a shit job for me after letting Clary leave the Institute.


	8. Of Men and Angels

"He didn't mean what he said about your parents Elliot. You know that. He was just angry." Izzy says from her seat on my bed as she and Alec watch me pace around my room.

Alec nods. "I could feel it too. He was so angry I couldn't move." He stands up. "When Jace comes back I'm going to tell him you took the fall for me."

"You aren't going to do that." I stand up and look at him. "I did not get told my parents hated me so much that they would leave me in a burning house, just so you could go and mess it up with him anyways."

Izzy stands up and walks towards the door. "Alec you know she's right." She leaves to go find her mother and finish her report.

"We have to go." I gesture towards the door. "Maryse will be expecting us."

Alec bars the door with his arms. "Not until you explain how you suddenly grew fangs. Was it something Raphael did to you?"

I shrug helplessly. "How am I supposed to know Alec?"

"You're right. We have to go." He drops his arms and walks me into the ops centre.

"We will figure this out. You hear me? I promise."

I lean over and hug him, like we did when we were kids. Like we did on the steps if the Institute the night after I was brought there.

 _My legs carry me quickly down the church steps, but not quietly._

 _"_ _Where are you going?"_

 _I flinch and turn around. Looking up at the Lightwood boy. "I'm just going for a walk."_

 _"_ _You're running away." He steps down towards me. "Why?"_

 _"_ _I don't belong here. I don't know where I belong." I sit down as tears pool at the corners of my eyes._

 _He pulls me into a hung. "You belong here. You are a Shadowhunter."_

Alec was always kind to me when we were children; he's the one who feels the most like my real family.

-/-

"Mom's in rare form today." Izzy says as we walk into Alec's office.

"She's been different since she got back from Idris." He turns around.

I shrug. "If you say so."

"Same old judgemental mom with me." Izzy agrees. "Have you spoken to Jace yet?"

Alec looks at me carefully. "He can call me when he's done chasing the little girl."

"Alec you need to call Jace." Izzy tries to level with him.

"Any welcome home for the old man?"

We all spin on our heel and I feel a wide grin fall on my face.

"Max!" I pick him up and spin him around. "What's up?" We fist bump and I put him down so he can go hug Izzy and Alec.

I walk over to Robert and smile. "Hello Robert."

He hugs me. "Oh Elliot. You never caught on. You are allowed to call me dad."

I shrug still smiling. I hear Max telling Alec about almost burning down the Mumbai Institute because of a mishap with the nourishment run and the inferno rune.

"Those two runes look nothing alike Max." Alec says happily.

"Well they do to me."

I high five my little brother, "Don't worry, I was the same way."

"Max. Go up to your room, open the Grey Book and look up the extinguish rune." Robert points out the door and Max sighs, but follows orders.

"Where is Clary Fairchild, your mother said she's missing." Robert asks Alec, immediately all business.

"She's not missing, she's with Jace."

"We can't have that girl out of Institute control, the entire shadow world is looking for her." He starts to walk out of the room. "It's a security risk, get them both back here now."

-/-

I run my finger along the old pages of the book I finally found about the Keeper.

-The Keeper of the Keys, an addition to the Mortal Instrument, the Keeper of the Keys is a person that has the ability to fix the Mortal Instruments, should they be rendered useless. However so they could not use this ability for selfish purposes, they had to be someone with warlock, seelie, werewolf, vampire, Shadowhunter, mundane, angel and demon blood. -

My eyes widen and I grab the book rushing to Alec's office.

"Alec I found…" I shut my mouth as Maryse looks at me coldly. I back out of the room. "I'll be in the library."

-/-

"What is it?" He asks? Walking up to the table I'm sitting at.

I push the book over to him and watch as he reads the words on the page.

"I'll get Izzy to test your blood, we'll prove it's not true."

I stand up, "Alec, you know it's true." I close the book and place it back on the shelf. "Walk with me."

We wander out of the library and walk around the Institute. "You saw me when I got mad at Jace. There's no point in hiding it."

I turn and face him. "Look, let's go get some training clothes on and go attack each other. Get it out of your system, then let Izzy test your blood." He suggests.

"It's been a long time big brother." I smile.

-/-

We've been sparing for a half an hour when suddenly Iz bursts into the training room.

"Promise me you won't go along with it. Promise me you'll say no." She says, directing her statement at Alec. She turns to me.

"Say no to what."

"They're going to make you marry."

"Who's they?" We say simultaneously.

Izzy looks at me quickly before returning her gaze to her brother. "Our parents, are making plans for both of us."

Alec shakes his head and signals for me to get in a fighting position. "No, you heard wrong."

Izzy steps in between us. "It's true Alec, they need a political alliance quickly to restore our family name and our influence at the Clave."

He laughs. "I knew Clary Fray would come back to bite me in the ass. So when I'm getting married, what're you doing?"

"They need me to convince the Clave to placate the seelies some how."

Alec scoffs, "You're playing the diplomat. Again. That's my job, that's what I'm supposed to be doing."

I step back and let them have their sibling moment, sitting on a bench sipping my water. Alec getting married, it can't be. He'll never agree to it.

-/-

Alec, Izzy and Jace walk into my room. I roll my eyes, "Hey Jace, come to yell at me again."

"No actually. Alec told me what really happened. I came to apologize."

I don't even bother to roll over. "You were right. There's nothing to be sorry for."

"What do you mean? I'm right?"

I turn and face the three of them, showing them the tears that slipped slowly down my cheeks. "My family left me to burn. You were right."

They all sit on my bed. "I don't want to be. Really I don't."

I stand up and cross the room. "They left me there because I'm a monster. And I always will be. They knew it, that's why they left me to die."

"What do you mean a monster?" Jace asks. "Elliot, you're no different from the rest of us."

I smile fakely. "Tell them what we found out Alec." I turn around and watch the fire burn brightly.

A blast of pain suddenly shoots through my body and I crumple to the ground, writhing in pain. "Someone make it stop!" I yell, in between the screams.

I hear Alec and Izzy rushing around me while Jace hold my arms down so I can't hurt myself for them. "It's okay E, it's going to be okay. We will help you."

As soon as the pain came on it is gone, I am left with a calming sense of clarity and peace while one though echoes through my head.

"The Keeper of the Old is dead. Hail and fairwell, Mateo Russi. I am the new Keeper of the Keys."

"What? Elliot stop, explain."

"Whose blood bind thee to the mortal chaos, brings new life to those once gone. For wither on life's train the walk the line. Tow the edge of life. I bind thyself to the mortal sword, cup and mirror. To forever protect and aid, until death does unto me."

The edges of my vision blur and I fall into Jace's arms, seemingly waking up from a stupor. I look up at Jace. "What the hell was that?"

He looks at Izzy and Alec for help, so do I. Not one of us has an answer.


	9. Major Arcana

After what happened last night, they've all been careful around me. We decided not to tell anyone about what happened, or what I am. Even Alec agreed to not telling the Clave, it seems like everything is falling apart here. Before Jace went back to Magnus's he promised me he would find out what was going on, and what I had turned into.

I wander around the Institute before deciding on calling Raphael. As the phone rings I wonder if it's a good idea or not.

"Hello?"

"Raphael, it's me."

"Elliot? What a pleasant surprise."

I smirk. "Were you expecting this call? You seem unsurprised."

"I might have been, but it is still nice to hear your voice. So, about those drinks."

"Well, text me a time, and I'll be there."

I can hear him smiling through the phone. "I will do that Shadowhunter."

I see Izzy waving me over. "I have to go Raphael, text me a time for those drinks."

I hang up and walk over to Izzy. "What's going on, where's the fire?"

"I think Alec went back to Magnus's with Jace, and spent the night."

I blink. "He wouldn't do that. Would he?"

We walk over to a monitor showing the recent demon hot spots, I start writing a report on them when Alec hurries past us.

"Slept at Magnus's place?" I ask with a smirk.

He glances over at me. "Didn't do much sleeping." He stops as he realizes how that sounded. "I was helping treat his wounds, that's all. He keeps walking away from us.

"Really?" Izzy says smiling.

Alec turns around again. "What?"

I close down the report file and walk over to him. "Oh, nothing. I believe you." Izzy says, following after me.

"Okay, Magnus made us cocktails. I'm telling you, nothing else happened."

"When you want to talk about what ever you aren't ready to talk about now, we're here." I say. Turning away.

"Hey, I talk to you." He stops me.

"About everything but your personal life. You know, and it's kind of not fair because I talk to you about my life all the time." Izzy says.

"She broke up with Meliorn." I said.

Alec looks at her. "Turning over a new leaf?" He says, eying her professional outfit.

She scoffs. "It was a bit much. Apparently I need someone more Shadowhunterish."

With that I step out of the conversation and head to my room to get changed.

-/-

I change into a pair of faux-leather leggings and a dark blue crop top, deciding that whatever Izzy was doing with her outfits didn't include me. I walk out of my room and see Alec rushing away.

"Alec!" I yell, jogging to catch up with him. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Jace called for back-up, if you want to come then grab your spear and let's go."

"Okay, will do." I say before running to the weapons room to grab my equipment.

-/-

Alec, Izzy and I wait for Jace to come out of the police station. We watch him and Clary rush out of the station.

"Someone call for backup?" Izzy asks.

"Yeah, what took you guys so long?" Jace says quickly.

Alec stares at his parabatai stonily. "Funny, I was going to ask you guys the same thing."

"It's complicated."

"We found the Cup." Clary explains.

I step forward, suddenly feeling overly protective. "The Cup."

"Yeah, but then we lost it. We have to sneak back into the police station to get it."

Alec perfectly sums up my feelings, "This is a disaster."

"Demon pox is a disaster. This is an inconvenience." Jace says.

I feel a heat building behind my eyes and I scan the station. I zero in on a glowing blue chalice. "I've found it. Lets go." I say, quickly activating my glamour rune and walking away.

Jace grabs my arm. "We can't use a glamour, anyone working with Valentine will see right through it."

They argue some more about ways to get inside the police station, I can only stand there with my eyes on the Cup, I briefly wonder if this is what it will be like for all the mortal instruments. Jace jolts me out of my daydream as Clary steps away to answer her phone.

"What the hell was that? How can you know where the Cup is?"

I never take my eyes off it, and Alec, Izzy and Jace notice. "I can see it, it's glowing blue."

-/-

Jace came up with a plan that we all though would work. Alec, Izzy and I would be a distraction to try and get a mundanes scan card. While him and Clary will wait by the vault.

The three of us walk down to the information centre and spot the officer sitting at the desk.

"I'm guessing you're the distractions." Alec says to Izzy and I.

We look at each other and smile. "Nope, I decided to grow up remember. No more distracting for me." Izzy says.

I laugh. "Besides. I don't think either of us would be her type." I remind him. Nodding towards the female police officer.

"Ah, crap." Alec says, shifting his feet around.

"Don't worry, just go over there and knock her socks off." I say, giving him a slight push towards the desk.

Izzy and I stand there, laughing slightly as he tries to flirt with her then spills water all over the desk, but he still flicks the card in our direction and as we start walking I catch the scan card and keep walking with Izzy.

We get to a gate and I scan the card, pushing through the door, Izzy finds the control box and draws a rune on it to help Jace and Clary get into the vault. We look at each other and smile as our Nyx runes activate when the entire police station goes into a black out. We walk out side and wait with Alec until we know for sure if our plan succeeded.

-/-

I run up to Clary. "Did you get it?" I ask breathlessly. "Can I see it?"

"We have to go." Jace says.

Izzy's necklace begins to pulse red, "Mundanes will be the least of our worries."

"Never a dull day." Jace says worriedly.

We all start to walk back to the Institute as Clary bumps into a demon. Lucky for he, Jace sees and kills it. They all start worrying about how many demons are around us and I keep walking, too afraid of what will happen to the Cup. We run down a flight of stairs and Jace kicks open the door to an electrical room.

I extend my spear as we walk in, noticing that the room, turns into tunnels. Alec volunteers to hold the demons off and we all keep going. I don't doubt Alec's fighting ability so; I'm not worried about leaving him to defend us.

"Hold up." Clary stops our quick escape. "I'm sorry Jace."

"It's okay we need to take a breather." He tells her.

She shakes her head. "No, it's not that…"

Izzy and I take the hint. "We'll scout ahead." We say.

After walking forwards a couple of strides she turns to me. "What's up with you?"

"I'm not sure, I just need to make sure the Cup get's to the Institute safely. That's all"

-/-

They join up with us eventually and Izzy's necklace starts pulsing again. Demons start to fall down from the ceiling and I grab Clary's arm, pulling her down one of the tunnels to where I hope there are no demons. We reach a dead end and turn around, hearing the growling of Shax demons behind us. I hold my spear in a defensive stance, knowing that if anything happened to Clary, Jace would kill me. Before they reach us however, clary manages to reach into the tarot card and pull out the cup, pushing the Shax demons away from us.

We run back to where we left the others, although they aren't there when we get back. Jace and Alec round the corner, and I immediately know that they are shapeshifters. I stab Jace through the heart with my spear and hear Clary scream behind me. For a brief moment fear courses through my body as the demon doesn't disintegrate.

"No…" I whisper and pull out my spear, throwing it at the fake Alec.

It connects with his stomach and they both turn into ash, I don't go and collect my spear I just back into the wall as Luke and another Alec walk in.

"How do I know you're Luke?" Clary yells pointing her seraph blade at him.

I watch her and him prove they're real; Alec bends down and picks up my spear, looking around. I run over and hug him.

"Shapeshifters. You and Jace. They didn't go to ash Alec, I thought that maybe I…"

Alec hands me my spear and makes me look at him. "I am alive, Elliot, you didn't kill me."

Alec, Clary, Luke and I walk back to the Institute, spotting Jace when we get back. I stand with Alec as we watch Clary run up to hug Jace.

"You didn't kill him either Elliot, he's still alive too." Alec reassures me.

I nod. "Yeah, yeah of course."

We place the Cup in Alec's locker under the training room floor, promising to send it to the Clave in the morning.

Jace walks over to me as everyone goes back to his or her rooms, "Alec told me what you did for Clary. I'm still here Elliot, don't be worried."

I look at him. "I saved her for you. Because you're my brother. Not because I like her."

I walk away and head towards my room.


	10. Bad Blood

My mind has been consumed with worry over the Mortal Cup ever since we got out of the tunnels; Clary keeps fiddling around, taking it in and out of the tarot card. Ever time she put it in a piece of my heart feels like it's being ripped out, she won't let me anywhere near it.

I go watch the monitors with Alec, reassuring him that none of the Downworlders can get in to the Institute without an invite from a Shadowhunter.

Alec suggests the Cup should go to the Clave, Izzy agrees with him. However Jace and Clary think it should stay here. They all look at me.

"Well, what do you think?" Alec asks.

I shake my head. "I don't know and I don't honestly care, but wherever it goes, I go." I step towards Clary. "Could I see it? Out of the card?"

Clary pulls the Cup out and hands it too me. A sense of extreme happiness washes over me and I hear Clary gasp as a beautiful white glow surrounds me. "I think it stays here. At least for now." I murmur, handing it back to Clary.

"I promise you, that monster will not get his hands on it." Clary says stoically.

Jace looks at Alec and then to me. "There you go, you have her word."

Alec takes Clary away to put it somewhere safe and I go lean on Jace. I push away from him when I get a phone call, from Raphael?

"Hello?"

"Elliot, I'm coming to the Institute."

"What? Why?" I'm suddenly very worried. "What happened?"

"The mundane came back to the hotel."

My eyes open wide and I hang up, watching a red circle on the monitor come closer to the Institute. Alarms start blaring and I race outside. The others calling for me to slow down. I don't even bother bringing a weapon with me. As we get to the perimeter lines, I run straight through.

"Elliot! Get back here now!" I hear Alec yell, not bothering to pay attention.

"What the hell is wrong with her now?" Jace mutters to the team.

I run right to Raphael and take Simon from him, "Thank you for bringing him here."

I bring Simon over to Clary. "What do you want to do with him?"

"We'll take him to the basement." Alec suggests. Clary can only nod in agreement.

-/-

"Clary, you can't let him turn. His whole life will be changed. Forever." I try to deter her from changing him.

"He has to be buried tonight, or a stake through the heart." Raphael tells her.

"And if I do neither?"

"His soul will be trapped in his body for eternity." I tell her solemnly.

She looks down at Simon and begins to cry. Trying to imagine her friend as a vampire.

-/-

Alec, Izzy and I walk into Robert's office. We all sit down on the couch in front of the desk. Perfect posture with our blank faces on.

"No surprise Jace isn't here." Robert breaks the silence.

"He got held up, said to start without him." Izzy defends her brother.

Robert looks at each one of us individually. "Your mother and I," Maryse gives him an upset look. "Okay, I requested a meeting with the Clave to inform them that the seelies are siding with Valentine."

"And the Clave denied it." Maryse says, her head held high.

"What'd you mean? They don't want you coming to Idris?" Alec asks them.

"There are rumours about the Shadowhunters interfering in Downworld affairs. But you three wouldn't know anything about that, right?" Maryse asks, already knowing the answer.

I look at my feet, breaking my stony look. We all shake our heads. "No." We say simultaneously.

Maryse isn't done yet. "Since all this happened here, they're concerned with our devotion to the job and our cause."

Iz looks confused. "But we're the Lightwoods."

"Remember, the honour isn't in the name, it's in the deed." Robert points out. "The Clave is sending an envoy."

"They're coming to observe us."

"And gather information about Valentine to report back." Robert continues.

Maryse interrupts him. "But really to scrutinize our leadership, so I beg of the three of you, don't do anything that would cause the Clave to lose all trust in us."

The three of us look at each other but stay silent. "Oh, and Elliot?"

"Yes?" I ask Maryse and Robert.

They look at each other. "We need a word. Alone." They motion for Alec and Isabelle to leave, both of them giving me supportive looks before walking out.

"What's this about?" I wonder.

Robert glances at his desk. "The Clave has finally had enough of wondering about your birth family. They are sending a medic in an hour to take a blood and DNA test from you."

I give him a steely gaze. "What if I refuse?" I ask. Knowing that they won't be able to find out as my blood is of so many races.

"We are to lock you in here, or use whatever force is necessary."  
Maryse says coldly.

I stand up quickly and race to the door. Maryse gets there first and hold me in my place until Robert and her are out of the door. "You will stay in here. I will not let you embarrass our name." She says closing the door and locking it behind her.

I pace around the room before pulling out my phone. I scroll through my contacts and find Alec's name. It rings for a second until he picks up.

"Elliot? What happened? Where are you?"

My breathing quickens. "Alec, Robert and Maryse locked me in your office until a medic from Idris gets here to test my blood."

I hear him fiddling with the doorknob. "I can't get this open Elliot, it's a very powerful locking rune."

"I don't know what to do Alec. They're going to find about me being the Keeper."

"Break the window, Izzy will climb in and glamour as you, then she'll repair the window when you're out. It will be okay." I hear him find Izzy and tell her the plan.

I walk to the window. "My test results will show that I'm a Lightwood then."

"Is that a bad thing?" I hear him ask as the glass shatters around me.

I step outside, and switch places with Iz. "No I suppose not." I hang up on Alec and use Isabelle's stele to glamour myself as her.

"Be careful." We say to each other.

-/-

Max, Alec and I, still glamoured as Izzy walk towards the entrance to the Institute, suddenly Valentine walks through the elevator doors and I push Max behind me while pulling a throwing knife out of my thigh holster and throwing it at Valentine, Alec shoots an arrow directly at his heart. He catches both my knife and his arrow and reveals himself to be a woman.

"That reaction time was abysmal." She walks forwards. "Except for you two. I'm Lydia Branwell, envoy from the Clave."

-/-

Iz and I have switched back into us. We stand in a broom cupboard. "Thanks Izzy, I don't know what they would have done if they found out."

She smiles. "No problem, anything for my newly found sister."

We wink at each other and walk alongside Maryse into the ops room. I left Alec to deal with introducing Lydia.

"Maryse. The Clave has ordered me to take temporary control of this Institute. Lydia says as we walk down the stairs.

"Wait a minute, nobody informed us," Maryse starts.

Lydia turns to face her. "The Clave doesn't have too. And to repeat myself, it's temporary." She touches her stele to a monitor. "Nothing's been decided yet. But, I do need full clearance in order to assess how this Institute is running." She gets access to the system. "Where is Clary Fairchild?" None of us say anything. "I would hope someone here knows."

Alec steps in. "She's in the field, training."

"You're telling me she's just, out and about on the streets of New York? Valentine's daughter?" Lydia asks angrily.

I stand in front of her. "Isn't she also your cousin?"

"Distant cousin." She looks me up and down. "Elliot Black. Heard about your DNA test. I bet you're excited."

I smirk sarcastically. "Ecstatic."

"She's with Jace." Alec says, returning to the topic of Clary.

Lydia walks over to another monitor. "The same Jace Wayland who decided to lead an unsanctioned raid against the vampires?" She walks away from us. "Rad reports."

"Jace might be unconventional, but he's out best soldier, and he if he's with Clary she's in good hands." Maryse follows Lydia.

Lydia turns around. "I hope so. And for your sake, all of New York."

Maryse gets a notification on her phone. She looks at me with wide eyes. "You're a Lightwood."

Alec, Izzy and I all act surprised. "Really? How's that possible?"

Maryse's face darkens. "It's not."

-/-

"It was Izzy wasn't it." Robert states, more than asks me.

I shrug. "Did it look like me?"

"A perfect copy of you." He leans back in his chair. "I hope you have a good reason."

"I do."

He puts on a happier look. "Well, you can tell me when you're ready. For now, we will say it was a false result."

"Thank you." I pause. "Father."

I see him smile as I walk out of the room.

-/-

The graveyard is cold and silent, we find an empty plot of land and Jace places Simon down next to where Clary will bury him. We hear a slight rustling and we all pull out our weapons. Camille comes to a stop a couple of tombstones away from us.

"What do you want?" Clary asks angrily.

"I want my property back."

Clary looks down at Simon. "Simon is not your property."

"If you'll just hand him over, I'll be on my way." She says stepping forward.

"You heard Clary, you're not laying a hand on him." Jace says.

"Fine, I tried to do this the nice way." She snaps her fingers and a dozen vampires come running over.

Raphael steps forward. "Glad you brought everyone here to witness your demise." He says addressing Camille. "Camille killed this mundane, and I have all the proof." He says to the clan. "She's been breaking the Accords for too long now. He's the evidence we need to show the Clave what Camille has been doing."

She laughs. "Are you trying to over throw me?"

"No, I already have."

My fangs suddenly come out and I bear them at Camille. "So it is true. You are the Keeper."

The clan surrounds her. "Don't listen to him. Raphael doesn't know the first thing about leading." She starts to get worried. "You need me, I've given you everything you could want. All the riches, all the pleasures you could desire."

"By breaking the law. Which will only destroy us."

I walk up to Raphael and stand next to him. He smiles at me. The vampires notice that I've chosen Raphael's leadership and they close in on Camille.

"We can fix this, if we just get rid of the body this mundane means nothing."

Clary stands in front of Camille. "Means nothing? Over my dead body." She punches the vampire in the jaw and walks back over to Jace and Simon.

The vampires swarm around Camille, immobilizing her, and dragging her back to the Hotel DuMort. Raphael offers Clary a stake, or a shovel. After brief deliberation she chooses the shovel and digs Simons grave.

-/-

While she makes a heartfelt speech to Simon I walk over to Raphael. He wraps an arm around my shoulders and gives me a slight kiss on the cheek.

"You chose my leadership, Keeper."

I smile, "Well, I do have vampire blood."

"You are the most important person to the Downworld, aside from the Seelie Queen. The fact that you chose me instead of Camille helped tonight." He says seriously.

"I'm not important Raphael, but I would rather follow you than that murderer." I tell him.

He pulls me into a hug. "Thank you mi amor."

Clary steps away from Simon and I stand away from everyone while Raphael moves Simon's body into the grave. Clary begins to cover Simon, but Jace takes over when it's too much for her.

We all wait until the moment when Simon comes out of the ground, stay away from the others and walk over to the Jewish memorial. The ground Simon is buried under begins to shake and Raphael steps forward with a duffel bag.

"It's happening." He says.

Simon's hand breaks the ground and he pulls himself out of the grave. Raphael pulls a few blood bags our of the duffel bag and throw them at Simon. Clary tried to talk to him and instead he lunges at her.

Simon stands up and asks what's happening, Clary explains but he runs off, Raphael promises to help him and smiles at me before running after Simon. I want to walk back to the Institute, but instead I walk towards the Brooklyn Bridge. Wanting to be alone with my thoughts.


	11. Rise Up

Mundanes bustle loudly past, people and cars alike. I stare out over the railing at the lights of New York, I've always known I was meant to make a home here, even if I wasn't originally from New York.

I break my gaze from the skyline as my phone rings with a text from Alec. He want's me to get back to the Institute. I pull out my stele and draw the agility and speed rune, smiling at how perfect they are, before I run towards home.

-/-

I rush into the infirmary, seeing Alec sitting on the edge of a medical bed with Robert bandaging up his arm.

"Are you okay? What happened here? The training room is messed up." I spill out.

Alec looks up at me. "There was an attack. A Forsaken broke in and Hodge and I killed it."

I sit down next to him. "That's a nasty gash on your arm." I motion for Robert to move away. "Since I was training to be a medic at one point, I shall make sure you don't die." I say sarcastically.

He rolls his eyes. "I believe you failed most of your tests, anyways if Izzy finds out I lost an arm and it was your fault, she'd murder you."

I grab a disinfecting salve off the medication shelf. "Please, I passed at least three of the ten tests."

"Okay, whatever."

-/-

We stand back and watch Magnus fortify the wards around the Institute.

"Wards solid now, nothing will get through?" Robert clarifies.

Magnus turns around offended. "Even my magic has limits." He walks a couple of steps and we follow. "The wards won't hold of that Forsaken attack. But, my protections will slow them down."

"Extra time is priceless." Robert says.

Magnus gives him a funny look. "Oh, say that after you get my bill."

Robert walks past Magnus. "Lydia will take care of that." He leaves Alec and I alone with Magnus.

"A Forsaken wound often needs a little warlock TOC. May I? Free of charge." Magnus steps up to Alec.

He moves back. "It's okay, I'm fine."

"If anything were to happen to you I-"

Alec interrupts him. "Magnus, I'm good. Elliot checked it. I got-"

"To go? Of course. You're a busy man, and I should find this Lydia person, payment upfront is just smart business. Where might I find her?" He asks slyly.

"I haven't seen her, but if I do I'll send her your way." Alec walks away leaving Magnus and me alone.

I grab his arm to stop him from walking away. "Can we talk?"

"What's up pumpkin?"

I look at my shoes. "So, I guess I'm the new Keeper of the Keys."

"I have heard that circulating around the Downworld. What of it?"

I look up at him. "Could you teach me to control it? I keep having these moments where something will take over me and I can't stop it."

He smiles. "Of course, come to my loft anytime and we can start."

"Thanks Magnus, by the way, you and Alec would be really cute together." I laugh walking away, leaving him standing there blushing.

-/-

"She calls Meliorn in and arrests him and then acts like it's all out of her hands." Izzy yells pacing her room.

"It was the Clave that gave the order Iz, not Lydia." I try and console her.

She stops pacing and faces me. "Are you sure about that?"

"Why don't we go find Alec and ask him?"

She pulls me off her bed and down the hall. "Fine. Let's go."

We find Alec in the training room, holding his arm against him. Before we can say anything Jace walks up the steps and stands with us.

"Hey, you alright?"

Alec looks like he's getting frustrated with everyone asking him that. "I'm fine." He mumbles.

"I just spoke to Robert and Maryse, they're being sent back to Idris." Jace says.

"What?" Izzy asks confused.

"Yeah."

She looks at Alec. "Another order from Lydia?" He shrugs.

"Who's Lydia?" Jace wonders.

"She's in charge of the Institute." I mutter from behind them.

Jace looks at me with surprise. "She's what?"

"Temporarily." Alec says tiredly.

Izzy just gets angrier. "And now she's told the Clave that mom and dad aren't doing their job?"

"Maybe they aren't." Alec says loudly. "The Institute was under their control when the Forsaken got in."

"What're you talking about?"

"Mom and dad were members of the Circle."

Izzy, Jace and I stare at Alec in shock. "What?"

"They don't have circle runes." Izzy reasons.

"That's because they made a deal with the Clave prior to the uprising. In exchange for their cooperation they were pardoned." He explains.

Izzy steps back. "You're questioning their loyalty."

"Valentine is back. The Circle is rising, they're under suspicion."

Jace and I cross our arms. "No way. Robert and Maryse took Elliot and I in. They raised us as their own. I know what kind of people they are."

"Are you sure?" Alec steps towards Jace. "They lied to us. For years they've been telling us how to act, that we have to uphold the Lightwood name while they're the ones who tarnished it. They're hypocrites."

I move next to Alec. "It's kind of true Jace."

Lydia walks in, breaking up the sibling war that was just started. "You must be Jace Wayland. " She pushes me aside to stand in front of Alec. "Lydia Branwell, you're quite the legend back in Idris." She holds out her hand for him to shake it.

He doesn't. "Don't believe everything you hear."

"Did you tell them?" She asks Alec.

I stand next to Jace. "Tell us what?"

"Lydia and I are engaged." He says deadpan.

I keep my face neutral for Lydia, but I know my siblings can see right through it. "Well, I hope you have a happy marriage." Sarcasm drips from my words like melted caramel. "Lydia."

I turn on my heel, not bothering to listen to what Izzy and Jace think about it. Alec made a stupid choice, getting engaged to Lydia. And I won't have any part in it.

-/-

Izzy POV

The monitor turns to a video of guards pushing Meliorn onto the couch. Elliot stands behind him, holding the flat edge of a seraph blade to the back of his neck.

"This is insane. We have to put a stop to this." I blurt out; surprised that Elliot is guarding him.

Alec stands next to me. "Yeah well, enjoy portalling back to Idris with mom and dad."

"You realize Meliorn is here because of me." I tell him.

Jace leans against the desk behind us both. "Alec's right. There's nothing we can do to stop this interrogation."

"You're on Alec's side now?" I say snidely.

"We swore to protect each other, of course he's on my side." Alec says factually.

"Not picking sides, Jace Wayland is Switzerland." He says peering over my shoulder at the monitor. "But clearly, Elliot Black is not. Since she volunteered to guard him."

I know we're all thinking the same thing. Elliot hates Lydia, so why is she in the interrogation room by choice?

-/-

Elliot's POV

I hold a seraph blade to Meliorn's back as we march him down the halls of the Institute and into the Ops centre. I flinch when I hear Izzy. "Where are you taking him?" She demands.

"To a holding cell, the guard unit will transport him to the Silent Brothers." Lydia responds.

That's all I hear before we reach the end of the hallway and stop at the elevator to the subbasement. I tried to convince Lydia to keep him here after the interrogation, knowing that Isabelle would never forgive me, or listen to why I volunteered for the guard unit. I wanted to protect Meliorn; after all, I am one of his people. I volunteered to keep as much punishment out of his way as possible.

-/-

The night is cold, and I shiver beneath my leather jacket. I know that Jace and Izzy are going to come and try to stop this. I have tried my best to keep Meliorn safe, but if they show up and want a fight, I will have to fight against my family.

We turn the corner, getting closer and closer to the Downworld entrance to the City of Bones. Alec is the only person in front of me, and he glances back, giving me a grim smile.

As the guard nears the entrance we hear wolves growling above us. We all turn to look; I make sure not to let go of Meliorn.

"This could be a trap." Alec warns. "Secure the perimeter. Do it now." He tells the rest of the guard. "Elliot, get the prisoner to the entrance."

I nod and continue walking, not knowing what Jace and Izzy have planned.

"We'll take Meliorn inside." Alec says. "Stay here." He tells the other tow guards behind me. "Nobody gets through."

We leave the guard behind and walk Meliorn down the corridor in front of the entrance. As I glance behind us, there's nobody there. "Not to late to turn back." Meliorn says smirking.

"Be quiet." Alec says before I can reply. "I won't tell you again."

We enter a door in the abandoned building housing the Downworld entrance and Alec uses his stele to reveal the opening. Before we get to the entrance Clary jumps out of the shadows.

"Alec, Elliot."

We both turn to look at her, my glance lasting longer than Alec's, before turning and facing Jace, who stepped in front of the door.

"You told me you were taking Clary back to the Institute." Alec steps forward. "You lied to me."

"I did what needed to be done."

Clary jogs past us to stand next to Jace, I move Meliorn back. "Alec the Clave has gone too far. You have to see that, please Just let Meliorn go."

"I have my orders, and Elliot has hers." He says.

She shakes her head. "I don't care about your damn orders, who cares about orders!"

"You see? That's how little you know about being a Shadowhunter. You couldn't possibly understand-"

"It's you that doesn't understand Alec, not this time." Jace interrupts.

While they're talking I start to walk with Meliorn towards the door, but Clary blocks my path.

"Move Clary." I say levelly.

She activates her seraph blade. "I'm really sorry."

Before I can move she bolts forward knocking Meliorn out of my grip and putting me on my ass. She runs forward and takes Meliorn out of the building. I push myself onto my feet and walk towards Jace and Alec, they've started fighting, not sparring, fighting. Alec finally pins Jace and holds a dagger to his throat.

"Alec!" I yell.

Jace says something to him and Alec get's off Jace. Jace stands up. "Come with me, we'll fight Valentine the right way, together."

"If we do that, we'll be considered traitors like mom and dad." He says solemnly.

"I'm begging you, my parabatai, my brother, please Alec come with me."

There's a weighted silence before Alec speaks. "No."

Jace turns and walks quickly out of the building. Alec doesn't get up from the floor.

I wait to be sure Jace is gone. "I'm sorry Alec. I shouldn't have let her drop me."

He looks up at me. I hold my hand down to help him up and he takes it. "It's not just your fault. It's mine too."

We walk out of the building silently, and walk back to the Institute.


	12. This World Inverted

I leave Alec in the steps of the Institute, deciding to take Magnus up on his offer to train me tonight. I don't think Alec Izzy, or Jace will be in the mood to talk to me anyways.

I breathe in the New York air and smile at the bright lights. No matter how many times I go outside and see the city line, it still takes my breath away. Magnus's building is right in front of me and I walk in before I change my mind. Before I can even knock his door opens with a gust of blue magic.

"Come on in pumpkin." I hear Magnus say from inside.

I walk slowly into his loft and hear the door close behind me. Magnus is standing in the middle of his living room; everything is pushed up against the walls, leaving a clear space in the room.

"What's this for?" I wonder.

He gestures around him. "You need to learn to control the different bloods inside you, so it will take some space."

I nod. "Okay, where do we start?"

"Well, I need to know what blood types have you experienced so far?" He asks.

I think for a moment. "Shadowhunter, obviously and vampire I think."

"Okay, I see. No seelie, werewolf, warlock?" He paused for a moment. "Demon?"

I shake my head. "Not that I can remember."

"And what about when you're near the Cup?"

"I freeze, there's nothing I can do but watch it and make sure nothing bad happens to it." I pause. "How can I control that?"

He rubs my arm. "It's okay pumpkin, the Keeper I knew found a way to control it. Her name was Mai Boreguard. You would have liked her."

"How did she do it?" I say quietly.

He steps back. "She simply let go. I can see you trying to fight it in your eyes. Let go pumpkin."

I close my eyes and try to let down the barriers I've built in my mind. All at once I feel my fangs sliding into my bottom lip, drawing blood. I open my eyes and put the barriers back up. "Magnus I can't."

He pulls out his phone and texts someone. "I've called in re-enforcements. A vamp is on his way."

I stare at him in surprise, and then hear a knock on Magnus's door. He smiles. "He's here."

"Who's here?" I ask as Magnus goes to answer the door.

Raphael strides into the room holding a bag full of, "Blood?" I whisper.

"Yep, now pull out them fangs and take a drink. I'll get you a cup."

I look at Magnus. "Do I have too?"

"Mai found that it helped." He shrugs.

I take the cup of blood from Raphael and close my eyes again. My fangs slide out again and I take a sip, it tastes like tomatoes, and sugar. It's not at all what I thought it would be. I finish the glass and open my eyes. "What now?"

"Now, we wait and see." Raphael and Magnus say.

I sit cross-legged on the floor. "What are we waiting for?"

"For one of the blood types to establish dominance." Magnus explains. "Now close your eyes, and let them in."

I do as he says and stand up, I feel the rush of the blood I just drank as it runs through my body, I can feel my own blood as it pounds a staccato beat inside my ears. They all run towards my heart at once and I can feel tingling in my fingertips.

I open my eyes and hear Magnus whisper. "She's done it."

I look down at my hands and smile. My right hand holds a small ball of bright green sparks, and my left hand holds a larger ball of purple smoke and sparks. I can feel my fangs pushing into my bottom lip and I can feel my runes pounding abilities through my body. I walk towards a mirror and see that my eyes have changed to a signature werewolf yellow.

I close my eyes again and send them away. The vampire fangs lingering just a moment longer than the others, but soon they too fade and I become a Shadowhunter once more.

I stand in front of Magnus and Raphael. "So, how did I do?"

Raphael walks over and gently grabs my hand. He swiftly gives it a quick kiss and smiles at me. "You are dominantly vampire and Shadowhunter."

"Am I? Well, that's a new development." I blush.

Magnus steps between us. "You can come back another day to work on your attraction to the Cup and the other Mortal Instruments, but for now, as long as you regularly get a drink of blood, they should stay under control."

I hug him tightly. "Thank you so much."

He smiles at me. "No problem pumpkin. You should get back to the Institute, they'll be missing you."

"Raphael would you walk me back?"

"Of course mi amor."

-/-

"Wait Alec slow down. What happened?"

"Raj saw Izzy at the fight last night and reported it. She was arrested, but Lydia thought that if we traded the Cup for her freedom it would work. Jace took the Cup." He explains everything that had happened while I was at Magnus's apartment.

We walk up to the training floor to meet Hodge and Lydia. Alec wants to track Jace through his parabatai bond.

"Hodge you ready?" Alec asks rolling up his sleeves.

Lydia is trying to stop him. "Alec don't do this out of anger, Jace is still your parabatai."

"Lydia's right." Hodge agrees.

"I'm not letting Jace sacrifice my sister for his girlfriends pointless crusade. We're doing this, and if you don't want to help get out." He's not swayed.

"He should do this. They have the Cup, it's not safe out there and we need it to get Isabelle free." I agree with Alec.

"I will. But on one condition." Hodge crosses his arms. "You don't let it go too far. Your bond with Jace can with stand a certain amount of strain, but you have to promise me that you won't let it break."

"Jace is dead to me." Alec says deadpan.

"Alec." Hodge says sadly.

Lydia steps forward. "You don't know how dependant you are on the bond, or how dependant you are on each other."

Alec shrugs his shirt of and hands it to me. "I have to do this. For Izzy."

He lies down on the bed and we all circle around him. "Prepare yourself, this will be very, very painful." Hodge warns.

-/-

"Jace! Jace!" Alec yells as Lydia and I run after him.

We watch as the doorway closes, leaving not a single trace behind.

"What was that?" I ask.

He looks down at me. "I don't know, but whatever it is, they aren't coming out.

We turn around and run back to the entrance to the seelie realm.

-/-

After getting back to the Institute I walk to my room and pull of my mission clothes. Changing into comfortable pyjamas I flop onto my bed, falling asleep as soon as I hit the sheets.


	13. Blood Calls to Blood

I stagger to my closet and throw open the door, I pull out a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark red tank top. I slip into them both before grabbing my brown combat boots and lacing them up. Before stalking out of the room I gram my brown leather jacket and zip it up onto myself.

I walk down the hallways to the room Izzy's locked in. I nod to Raj who's guarding the door and he let's me in. Izzy stands up when she sees me.

"Elliot." She walks over and hugs me.

I look her in the eyes. "Izzy, I think I can get you out."

"What?" She looks shocked. "How. Do you know where the Cup is?"

"The Cup is missing?" I shake my head. "Never mind, that's not important right now. If I give myself up to the Inquisitor, maybe the Keeper of the Keys would be a fair trade for your freedom."

"No. Elliot, you are not giving yourself up for me." She says determinedly. "We will find some other way."

I nod and Alec walks into the room.

"We've got to get you out of here. Who do we know in Idris?"

Izzy and I sit down on the couch. "The only people who care are mom and dad." She says solemnly. "But they're under suspicion themselves."

"What about Lydia?" Alec paces the room.

A fire lights in Isabelle's eyes. "Lydia is the one prosecuting me. You said she had no choice."

"She doesn't." He replies.

Izzy stands up. "Everyone has a choice Alec. I made mine. I'm just going to get through this without losing my self respect."

"Look, I know you don't believe this, but Lydia said she'd help if we could give her a way to do it." Alec reasons.

"Izzy, we have to use me. It could save your life." I say.

She glares at me. "I will not lose you to the Clave just because of my own decisions."

"But Izzy-"

"Stop." She puts up a hand. "We are not going to give you up to the Clave."

I stand up and walk out of the room. Izzy's right but I'm not just going to let her rot in that room. I will find Jace and Clary, and hand the Cup over to the Clave.

-/-

I walk into Clary's room and grab a set of her sketching pencils; I draw the tracking rune on my hand and grip them tightly, hoping that I can find her. All I here is the quiet murmur of waves. I throw the pencils at the wall in frustration. Then I think about Simon, maybe he's seen her. The phone rings once, twice then.

"Hello?"

"Simon its Elliot. Do know where Clary is?" I ask quickly.

"Yeah she and Jace just walked into the Jade Wolf with some other guy, Jace is hurt pretty bad."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Thank you Simon."

-/-

I burst through the doors of the restaurant and go right to Jace.

"What happened?" I ask Clary.

"Ravener demon." She explains. "I'm leaving with Simon to get blood for him."

I nod. "Quickly."

I look at the man sitting next to him. "Who're you?"

"I'm Michael Wayland. Jace's father." He says.

I know I look confused. "But you died."

He cups my cheek with his hand. "I'm so sorry Elliot."

Jace suddenly wakes up; pulling me out of the downward spiral of confusion that Michael Wayland was pulling me into. I grab Jace's hand and hold it tight.

"Help is coming big brother. Don't worry."

-/-

I give Clary a grateful look as we switch places. I go and sit down in front of Michael Wayland.

"I need answers." I start off deadpan. "What are you so sorry about?"

He reaches across the table and grabs my hand. "You're my daughter, Elliot. And I'm so sorry you and Jace had to grow up without a father because of Valentine."

I take my hand out of his. "I look nothing like you or Jace. I can't be your daughter."

"You look like your mother."

I stand up quickly, knocking the chair over. "How, I've been called a Black for as long as I can remember. Why can I not remember you?"

"I don't know Elliot. I'm sorry. But you don't have to be Elliot Black anymore. You can be Elliot Wayland now."

I turn away from him as tears slowly drip down my cheeks. "Does Jace know?"

"No, but I will tell him." He assures me.

I walk to the door. "Tell him when he can handle it. I'll be outside."

-/-

"Elliot, talk to me." Jace says sitting down next to me.

I quickly brush the tears off my cheeks and turn away form him. "You really are my big brother Jace, and I don't know what to say."

He pulls me into a hug. "It's going to be okay. We have each other now."

"I know, but something doesn't feel right." I say. "Let's go back inside."

Jace pushes open the door and we go sit down next to Clary. I wonder what it's going to be like now, with a father, and a brother. I've never really had a family until now. While Alec, Izzy, Robert, Maryse and Max all treated me like family, they weren't related by blood. Now I have a blood family.

-/-

Turns out that Valentine had moved his operation to Renwick's. It was an old smallpox hospital on Staten Island. Clary and Luke were going t go check it out, Clary thought Jace should stay here because he needs to rest more. So Michael, Jace and I were left behind, to talk as a family I suppose.

Michael takes Jace and I into the back, he wants to see how far we've developed in his 'absence'.

"Come on!" He tells Jace, whose panting and sweating at the exertion. Michael holds the blocking pads out for Jace. "Again."

After a few punches, Michael hits Jace in the side. They start fighting and I wonder what Clary would say since she told Jace to rest.

"Something's wrong, Shadowhunters mend quickly, but after all my time in prison I shouldn't be able to get a shot in on you." Michael says semi-angrily.

I pull off my jacket and step in front of Jace. "Whoa there mate, calm down." I form my hands into fists and begin to hit the blocking pads. "Where's that good-old fatherly wisdom I've heard so much about?"

"He's still weak." He says.

Jace touches his parabatai rune. "It's my bond with Alec Lightwood. He really weakened it trying to find me."

I land a kick in on Michael and he smiles at me. "You're strong. Just like I raised you to be."

"You didn't raise me. Maryse and Robert raised me." I say and miss the pad on purpose, hitting him in the stomach. I turn around and grab my jacket before heading back into the main part of the restaurant.

-/-

"We couldn't even count the demons." Clary says after coming back from scouting Renwick's.

"Yeah, but we have to get Jocelyn out of there." Luke reminds her.

Jace paces around the cooler. "That'd be a suicide mission."

Clary uncrosses her arms. "It doesn't have to be. I have the Cup, demons have to obey me."

"That's what Valentine wants. He knows you'll do anything to save your mother. He wants you to take out the Cup and use it." Michael tells Clary.

"And if I do?" She says indignantly.

He gives her a pointed look. "He'll take it. And he'll kill us too."

"Let him try."

-/-

We walk up to the entrance to the hospital, something doesn't seem right.

"This doesn't make any sense." Luke says. "There were a thousand demons here last night."

"That's what he wants, he wants to draw us in." Michael replies. "Force Clary to use the Cup."

We all turn and ready our weapons as a group of Circle members rushes out the front door. My seraph blade clashes against the rouge Shadowhunters as we both try to get the upper hand on one another. After a few more swings I catch him off guard and plunge my blade into his chest. I see Clary walking into the hospital and go to follow her, knowing that the other three will come when they've disabled the Circle members.

Clary pushes open a set of double doors and we walk into a large room. In the middle of the room is Jocelyn I presume, and Clary drops her blade and runs to her mother. I keep my back to them both and walk the perimeter of the room, checking for any danger. When I know everything is safe I go to stand next to Clary.

No matter what Clary does Jocelyn won't wake up, soon though Jace and Michael run through the doors slamming them behind them.

"Where's Luke?" Clary asks turning from her mother."

"We left him fighting Blackwell." Jace explains. "Luke told us to leave him Clary."

Jace quickly draws the locking rune on the door, and just in time because the demons start to push on the door. Clary and Jace start fighting about how Luke was left outside but I don't pay any attention to it, I walk over to Clary's forgotten blade and pick it up. I push it into her hands to stop the fight.

"We don't have time for this." I growl at them both.

I activate my own seraph blade and move back to stand in front of Jocelyn. Clary pulls the Mortal Cup out of her bag, but for some reason I don't feel any attachment too it. It's a fake, I think quickly.

She holds the fake Cup up high towards the door. "Demons, I command you. Find Valentine." Nothing happen, but the demons keep banging on the doors louder and louder, "Demons, find Valentine."

"Let me try." Michael takes the Cup from Clary, he does nothing.

"Come on." Jace urges our father.

Michael takes his seraph blade and cups a line through the glamour rune on his wrist. We watch, as our newly found father becomes Valentine.

"Valentine!" I yell angrily.

He smiles at me. "Hello Elliot." He raises the Cup above his head. "Demons attack my enemies!" He yells. "I command you!" He nearly screams.

"Knock it off guys!" Clary yells smirking. The demons outside of the walls go away, the noise dying down. "You're not the only one who knows how to cast a glamour." She pulls the real Cup out of her bag and I have a hard time drawing my eyes from it.

The Cup in Valentines hand turns into a 'Worlds #1 Dad' mug and he smashes it on the ground.

Clary looks between Jace and I. "Should we let the demons take care of this or-."

"No." Jace and I utter angrily. "Send them away."

I step up to stand next to Jace. "He's ours."

"Demons be gone."

"You pretended to be my father." Jace says angrily.

I start to circle around Valentine. "You made me think I had a family!" I yell. "That I had a place!"

"I wasn't pretending Jace." Valentine says. "And you do have a family Elliot."

"No, you murdered him." Jace says, an inferno raging in his eyes. He steps up and holds the blade to Valentine's throat. "You're a liar."

Valentine steps back into my sword point. "I am your father, I always have been. The face that you as Michael Wayland was mine, then and now. It was a powerful glamour. I want you to know me as I am. To know the truth about me, and you."

"Jace, Jace, don't listen to him. We know he's my father, we know that for a fact!" Clary yells from behind us.

I spin him around and hold my own blade to his throat. "You are not my father."

"I raised you, Elliot, I taught you everything you know. You are just like me. After your parents didn't want you, they thought you were a mutant. You can't remember anything. Right. Blue birds." He tells me.

My entire life flashes before my eyes and I can remember it all now, every detail, down to the weapons rack in the training room. And Jonathan.

I close my eyes. Trying to hide my surprise. "Because of the blood types."

"Yes." He grabs my shoulders. "Because they didn't want a child that was different."

"Who is they?" I ask through my teeth.

Valentine frowns. "Maryse and Robert Lightwood."

I gasp and drop my sword, staggering backwards. I hear Jace repostition Valentine to be against his sword but I pay them no attention. I run through the doors and out into the hospital and eventually into the night. I place a blocking rune on my forearm and wave my stele over my glamour rune. I drop my phone on the ground and take off running. A monster raised me, and I will not be found until I am ready to face my family's disgust.


	14. Malec

Third Person POV

Alec paces around the room, worried about Elliot. Izzy is sitting down on the black leather couch twisting her hair around her finger.

"Listen. There's something you both should know." Jace starts.

Izzy stands up. "What is it?"

"Valentine told Elliot that she was a Lightwood. He told her that Maryse gave her up. I assume that's one of the reasons she ran." Jace explains.

Alec stops pacing. "And the other reason?"

"He told her that she's just like him, because he raised her."

"Mom never mentioned us having another sibling." Izzy tries to find reason.

Alec shrugs. "She never told us she was a Circle member either."

They all stand in silence, they've tried every possible way of finding Elliot, but she cannot be found. They all know that the only way they will see her again is if she comes willingly.

-/-

Elliot's POV

I rub my eyes wearily, before sitting up. After running from Renwick's last night I crashed in an alleyway. It's Alec's wedding day, I remember suddenly, feeling bad about missing it. However my hearts stops when I remember what Valentine had made me remember last night.

 _"And this one's an abundance rune." My five-year-old fingers point to the right rune._

 _"That's right Elliot. Very good. I think you'll soon be able to have your first rune ceremony." Valentine picks me up off his knee and places me on my own two feet._

 _I grin. "Really! What about Jonathan? Or Jace?"_

 _"Oh, they aren't quite as fast at learning runes as you are kiddo. They will have to wait another few years." He walks out of my room and closes the door._

 _"Goodnight Daddy." I whisper._

When the memory stops I realize I'm crying. I quickly brush the tears off my face and stand up. I can't sit in this alley for the rest of my life. I decide to go to Magnus's apartment. He might understand the predicament I'm in and help me. Maybe he can portal me to another Institute and I can work there as Elliot Black. Not as Elliot Lightwood.

-/-

"Elliot Lightwood. What a pleasant surprise." I hear Magnus say happily from the other room.

"I'm not a Lightwood, Magnus. Maryse very clearly stated that when she gave me up."

A martini appears in my hand. "Sit down pumpkin. Rest and drink that. Everything will fix itself soon." He assures me.

"Hello? Magnus? You said you needed to talk to me." I hear after taking a sip of the drink. I would recognize that voice anywhere and I try to move, but Magnus just winks at me.

"Immobilization potion." He walks into the front room to see Alec. "It's nice to see you Alec. I wasn't sure if you'd come. You know how I hate to drink alone."

"I didn't come here to drink. Do you have any information on-"?

"The warlock who cast the spell on Jocelyn? I'm looking into it, but we never really finished our conversation after Izzy's trial. About your wedding?" Magnus says playfully.

"There's no conversation to be had, I'm getting married. You and I, we understand marriage differently. I'm a Shadowhunter, this is about family, and tradition, honour."

"Honour? Where's the honour in living a lie?"

"What're you talking about?" Alec asks.

"What about love? Even Shadowhunters fall in love Alec, just tell me you're in love with Lydia, and I'll stop."

I can feel the potions effects waning and I drop my glass, it shatters across the floor and I know Alec is going to come in here to investigate. I begin to panic, I can only move my face and my fingers, how am I supposed to get out of here?

"What was that?" I hear Alec ask.

"Oh, it's only Elliot." Magnus answers.

I silently curse the warlock and close my eyes, waiting for Alec to come in and demand my leave.

"Elliot?" He says as he finishes his conversation with Magnus and rounds the corner. "Why'd you run off?"

"I'm a monster Alec, I was raised by a monster."

He sits down next to me and pulls me into a hug. "Come back to the Institute. We will figure this out, all of us are worried about you."

Magnus releases me from the potion and I stand up. "Maryse didn't want me then, what's different now?"

"Let's just go home, and we can ask her about it then. But it's my wedding tonight, and I want my sister to be there." He tells me.

"Okay, let's go." I follow Alec out of Magnus's apartment, giving the warlock a quick goodbye as I pass.

-/-

I sit on Izzy's bed quietly, watching as she throws dresses out of her closet. She hasn't brought up any new information, so neither will I. At least she pulls out a forest green dress, and a pair of black high-heeled gladiator sandals.

"This would look amazing on you!" She exclaims with a squeal.

I take the clothes from her and give a tight smile. "Thanks Izzy. They look cute."

"Do we really need to have the talk?" She sits down next to me. "Elliot, you're my sister, and I love you as much as I did before we found that out. It doesn't matter to me that you were raised by Valentine, Jace was too, and you don't see us throwing him out."

I shrug. "No, but Jace isn't your real brother, and Valentine never said that Jace was like him."

She looks me directly in the eye. "I know what kind of person you are Elliot. And believe me, its nothing like Valentine. No matter what he says."

I smile. "You always know just what to say. Now, what're you wearing?"

-/-

I walk with Alec and Izzy out of the ops centre. Maryse should be arriving for the wedding soon and Alec wanted me to be with him and Izzy when they greeted her. I suppose they both want answers. All three of us stand tall in front of the elevators as a portal forms before us. Maryse and Robert walk through and stop abruptly in front of us.

I cross my arms. "Hello, Mother." I nod my head towards Robert. "Father."

Alec steps in front of me. "Let's do this in my office." He points us down the hallway. "Shall we?"

We all walk silently into Alec's office and he closes the door behind us.

"What's this about?" Maryse sits down on Alec's couch.

I stand in front of her. "I had an interesting talk with Valentine." I look down at her. "Anything you want to tell me?"

She stands and looks me directly in the eye. "What did he tell you?"

"That I was you daughter. And you gave me to him." She looks at Robert, and he looks surprised. "Did he not know?"

She stares at me coldly. "You looked nothing like Isabelle, with your brown hair, hazel eyes. I never thought I'd see you again."

I return her stare. "You didn't even name me, did you?" I step back. "You let that monster name me."

Robert steps in. "What're you talking about Elliot?"

I smirk at Maryse. "Why don't you explain, Mom?"

She paces around the room, her warrior façade dropping for a moment. "Elliot is Isabelle's fraternal twin. I gave her away to Valentine."

I look at Izzy and smile. "I've got a twin?"

Maryse stares at me. "Barely. You're nothing like her." She steps towards me and get's too close. "He experimented on you, you are the monster here."

"Excuse me?"

Alec, Izzy and Robert all take a step back. Alec and Izzy know what I am capable of but Robert is just plain scared of the emotions being released into the office.

"I let Valentine inject you with all types of blood, and he succeeded, you are a perfect mixture of all types of demon."

It's my turn to begin pacing. "So you just gave me to him! To do with me whatever he wanted!" I start to yell. "He whipped me! Tortured me!" I back towards the door my voice getting dangerously low. "You let him have me. Do you even love me at all?"

Everyone holds their breath waiting for Maryse's reply.

"No. Elliot, I do not love you."

-/-

I sit at the back of the room in me dress and heels that Izzy picked out for me. No matter what Maryse want's to think about me, I will still show up to my brother's wedding. Maryse and Robert walk past me and I turn to the Shadowhunter sitting next to me and make small talk. Soon the Silent Brother slams his staff to the floor silencing the room.

"The ceremony is about to commence."

Izzy walks into the room in a beautiful gold floor length dress, she smiles at me as she walks up the isle. Once she get's up on the stand Lydia turns the corner, holding a bright red bouquet of roses, I never liked the idea of Alec and Lydia marrying, but even I'll admit that she looks amazing in the wedding dress. Alec helps her up to stand in front of him and the ceremony really begins.

Izzy hands Lydia the ceremonial bracelet and she places it on Alec's wrist, he in turn clasps the ceremonial necklace around her neck.

"It is time for Alec Lightwood and Lydia Branwell to mark each other with the wedded union rune." The Silent Brother touches his staff to the crystal and the rune appears. "A rune on the hand, a rune on the heart. A union is born."

Lydia takes the stele that Isabelle offers and touches it to the crystal, but before she can draw the rune on Alec's hand Magnus bursts through the doors. I giggle quietly at Magnus's dramatic flair and give him a quick thumbs-up at his entrance. Maryse stands up to try and get him to leave but I pay no attention to because Alec steps down and strides quickly up to Magnus, pulling him in to a deep kiss.

-/-

Magnus flicks his fingers and the table before us fills with knick-knacks and things from Ragnor Fells home.

"I pulled every item of magical importance from Ragnor's belongings, but I can't determine which will lead to the Book of the White."

Clary pulls a bookmark off the table. "I've seen this bookmark before. In the alternate dimension you showed me a book of spells and this was in it. Must have been the Book of the White."

"If that's the case we can use the bookmark to track the owner of the book." Alec suggests.

Jace reaches across the table to try and snag the bookmark but Magnus beats him too it. "Warlock tracking is much stronger."

He holds the bookmark and closes his eyes. With a start he flicks his eyes open and stares straight ahead. "Well, there's good news and bad news. The good news is, I know the owner. The bad, its Camille."

"Camille?" Clary and I ask simultaneously.

"Looks like Raphael has her locked up in the basement of the hotel DuMort." Magnus says.

I smirk. "This should be fun."

Clary sighs. "After I punched her, there's no way she'll help me."

"She won't have a choice." Jace mutters. "Trust me."

-/-

"So we're twins?" I say from Izzy's doorway.

She turns to face me. "We are." She walks up to me and grabs my hands. "Elliot and Isabelle Lightwood. Sisters. Now and forever."

I smile. "Now and forever."

Even though I smile there's still some small part of me that can't help but wonder what is going to happen now that I can remember my childhood. There's still one thought floating repeatedly in my mind. _Where's Jonathan?_


	15. Morning Star

A burning pain shoots through my chest and I groan falling to the floor. Izzy drops my hands and falls with me. "What is it Elliot. What's wrong?" She asks worried.

I turn to face her with tears in my eyes. "The Cup. It's gone."

She stands up and shoots out of the room, probably to go find Alec, hopefully. I clutch at my chest, gasping for air when I remember what Magnus said about controlling my connection to the Instruments. I close my eyes and call up all of the blood types inside of me, I begin to feel the pain slip away and I can breathe again. I take big gulps of air and stand up to see Jace and Clary in my doorway.

"What was that?" Jace asks.

I stand up and push past him. "There's no time for that now, we need to go to the ops centre. The Cup is gone."

-/-

"How's Lydia?" Clary asks as Alec walks towards our small group.

"She's better. Magnus is doing what he can to help her but it's bad. And the Cup is definitely missing." He tells us.

I begin to pace back and forth, worried about where the Cup is. "If they use it I will know. So at least it's not been used for anything bad yet."

Jace put's his hand on my shoulder in comfort and turns back to the group. "Hodge is missing too."

"Maybe he was attacked as well?" I suggest.

Izzy pulls up Lydia's office camera on the monitor and rewinds the footage. Clary leans in. "Maybe he's the one who attacked her."

"Hodge? No way, we've known him our entire lives he would never do that to us." Izzy responds, defending our tutor.

She stops rewinding the camera footage and plays it. The video shows Hodge attacking Lydia, and hitting her to the floor. I gasp quietly, there's no way that's actually Hodge. Izzy was right, he wouldn't do something like that to us.

I step back and walk into the weapons room, I grab my spear off the shelf and extend it to its full size. I will get the Cup back, no matter who stands in my way.

-/-

A scream rips from my throat and Alec, Izzy, Jace and Clary come running. I gasp for air as the pain takes over my entire body. I look at Alec through blurry eyes and cry. "He's going too far. It's too late."

I can see a massive vat of blood and the Cup fully submerged. The Keeper in me knows that this is a bad idea and Valentine is going to kill many mundanes, I think that's the reason it hurts so much.

Alec helps me up. "We need to find Hodge and get that Cup back."

"It's too late." I whimper. "Valentine has the Cup."

-/-

After watching Jace blow up at Clary I decide to go help her out, after all Alec already went after Jace, Clary shouldn't be left to brood.

"Hey." I walk up to her and drop my throwing knives on the table.

She glances up at me. "Elliot, you saw that then?"

"Yeah." I nod. "Listen, Jace was raised with me. And like it or not we were trained by Valentine, he was the one who controlled us as children and nothing that he said was kind."

Clary gives me a pointed look. "Valentine is my father too."

"I know that, but right now all Jace can think about it the cakes you got every birthday, the kisses on the forehead to wake you up in the morning, the chicken noodle soup fresh from the pot when you got sick."

She looks back at the table below us. "Valentine is evil yes, but you guys were just kids, shouldn't he have done those things for you?"

"Can I tell you a story?" I ask her quietly, she nods, probably assuming I have the same story as Jace's falcon. "On my fourth birthday Valentine took me to see a warlock, the warlock put a spell on me that made it so I could never feel true love. He told me that I was getting too close to Jace, and he didn't want me getting attached."

She sighs and looks at me sadly. "So you can't feel any love?"

"I can feel love, I will just never fall in love with someone so deeply that I'm willing to do anything for them." I shake my head and stand up, grabbing my spear. "It's for the best anyways, love is just a distraction, and it get's people killed."

I walk away form the table, hoping that Clary will keep that story to herself; it's one of the new memories I've discovered, and not one that I want Izzy or Alec to find out about anytime soon.

-/-

My phone rings suddenly, distracting me from the conversation about finding Camille. The caller ID shows that it's Norah, my old werewolf friend, from when I first got to the Institute.

"Hey Norah, what's up? It's been awhile."

"Yeah too long. Sorry this call is business related." I can hear her smiling through the phone. "We found your deserter friend."

"Where abouts?"

"The graffiti bridge."

"Drinks at the Hunters Moon later?"

"For sure, see ya Elliot. Good luck."

I put my phone back into my pocket and nod to Jace, motioning for him to follow me or not.

-/-

I spot Hodge lurking behind a pillar, avoiding the rest of the wolf pack still out to catch him. When he turns back to me I grab his jacket and push him up against the wall. He's so surprised that he doesn't react fast enough to fight back. I hear Jace come up behind me but I keep my attention on Hodge.

"Why'd you give it to him?" I ask with a snarl.

He stares at me in surprise. "How'd you know it's gone?"

I let go of him in shock and he pushes me back, Jace takes my place and throws the first couple of punches until Hodge throws him against the pillar. I turn and face him, and he just smiles at me.

"I know what you are."

"How could you?" I ask, meaning more than one thing in that sentence. "I trusted you, we all trusted you."

"I was the only way to earn my freedom." He replies, only answering one of my meanings.

"We treated you like family. We loved you!" Jace yells, standing up and walking over to me.

"Family? Family!" Hodge raises his arms.

We keep circling each other; we all know someone will have to make the first move eventually.

"You can't win, I taught you everything you know." He smirks and pulls out his chakrams holding them in front of himself.

Jace pulls out his double bladed seraph blade and begins to fight Hodge.

He looks over at me, and smiles. "If I ever get captured, I'll tell the Clave you're the Keeper."

Jace gets the upper hand and slices Hodge's hand clean from his arm. Alec runs up from somewhere and pulls Jace off, I know that they can both handle it, so I turn on my heel and walk back to the Institute. Texting Izzy for an update on whether Raphael let Camille out yet.

-/-

I slip out of my clothes and step into the shower. The water is warm and it soothes the tense muscles all over my body. It feels like forever since I've been able to just relax.

After the warm water's run out and I've cleaned every possible speck of dirt form my body I walk out and dry myself off. I sweep my wet hair off my shoulders and into a French braid, tied with a blue elastic. I pull on a pair of black capris jeggings and black sneakers, a pale yellow tank tops and a brown leather jacket. Izzy texts me and tells me to meet them at the hotel DuMort, and I active my speed rune, racing off into the night.

-/-

At Camille's apartment I search the many shelves of books. She has four rooms of floor to ceiling books and we don't even know what the Book of the White looks like. I throw the books I'm holding onto the floor and walk off into the other room, this one is different instead of books on these shelves, bottles and jars line them instead.

"What the hell Camille?" I whisper under my breath.

I hear a scuffle and a muffled scream outside the door, I pull out my spear and, keeping my back to the wall I walk back into the previous room. Swords are held to Izzy, Clary and Simon's neck and I see Jace holding a seraph blade pointed at Valentine. I walk up behind him slowly and point the tip of my spear at his back.

"Well hello there." I whisper angrily.

He turns to face me, and smiles. "Elliot, it's great to see you."

"Feeling's not mutual." I grumble.

"Fight me, and watch your friends die." I watch as Alec and Magnus are pulled into the room with blades at their throat as well. Valentine turns away from me and continues on his rant to Jace. I let the tip of my spear slip, almost to the ground as plans of escape run through my head.

When Valentine feels the spear tip fall he turns and grabs my arm pulling me towards him so he can whisper into my ear.

"You will watch everyone you love die. For Elliot, you are immortal." A small sob tears itself from my throat and my eyes go wide. "I can stop that. I can take away the pain being the Keeper causes you; I can stop it all. Just come with me."

I try and pull away from him but he keeps a firm hold on my arm, a portal opens and I nod. "If I go with you, promise me you won't hurt them."

"You have my word, if Jace comes too." He says.

Jace lowers his blade and walks towards us. "I'm ready."

"No!" I look over at Alec and give him a hard stare, willing him to let me go.

"Jace, what're you doing." Clary cries.

"Let them go." Valentine commands and the Circle members drop their hold on our friends.

I don't turn around and witness Jace trying to keep everyone back, I hold my composure until Valentine grabs Jace and we are pulled through the portal. Jace looked back, I know he did.

We turn and face each other before looking around at our surroundings, a ship, in a harbour. Tracking doesn't work over water.

"Take her below." I hear Valentine command before two Circle members come up behind me and retrain my wrists, I try to fight back but one hits me in the temple. Then I feel nothing.


	16. This Guilty Blood

The pain blasting through my head is like nothing I've ever felt before. My arms are chained above my head, and I'm shirtless, cuts and gashes riddling my chest. I can't remember much about what happened, only that I agreed to go with Valentine because he said he could stop the negative effects of being the Keeper of the Keys. I don't believe him anymore. I hear something being dragged towards me, but I don't have the energy to lift my head.

Someone pats the side of my cheek and I pull my eyes up to look at them. "We've brought you a little friend."

He grabs my chin and turns my head towards, Jace? "No, why him?"

"He was being, un loyal to Valentine. He needs to be put in his place" The Circle member laughs.

I stare at Jace with an apologetic look in my eyes as they chain him up across from me. When every one of them leaves the room he looks at me with concern in his eyes.

"Elliot, what did they do to you?" He asks quietly.

I try and smile, but it comes out as more of a wince. "Nothing they won't do to you I'm sure."

Valentine comes into the room with a vial of black substance and a syringe. I don't notice what the substance is, but Jace does.

"What do you plan to do with the demon blood?" He asks angrily.

Valentine fills the syringe and walks over to me lazily. "I never got to finish my experiments when you were little. Now that we're a family again I can finally find the results I wanted."

I feel the syringe slide into my arm and then the quiet fire that rolls through my bloodstream. I hear Jace yelling at Valentine but the details are fuzzy. I don't scream, or cry. I just hang there, immobile, while the blood types in my body, fight the ever-increasing presence of demon blood.

-/-

Jace is gone. He wasn't there when I finally made it through the haze of demon blood. Valentine is waiting for me.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"Elliot, you are the best thing I've ever created, but I didn't get to finish my experiments on you once the manor burned down. Now, we can work together."

"I want to go home."

"I'm afraid you can't. They've sent out a dead or alive order for you and Jace."

"I don't care. It's better than being here."

Valentine unlocks the cuffs around my wrists and I crumple to the floor. "There's a room up on the deck that's all yours. Enjoy it."

-/-

It was quiet, and I lost track of the time passing quickly. There were no windows, and there was always a guard posted to keep me in my room. The only eventful things in my life became the times when Valentine or one of his minions would come in and stab me in the arm with demon blood. There seemed to be no change in my blood status, but I learned so much about being the Keeper.

If one of the Mortal Instruments should be rendered useless, I would be compelled to 'save' it. A part of my soul would split from my spirit and rekindle the power of the Mortal Instrument that is afflicted. I am also the only living thing that has the power to activate the Key… a fourth Mortal Instrument and one of the most powerful weapons when activated. No wonder Valentine wants to keep me locked up and in his control, he wants to find the Key and have me activate it.

-/-

My head shoots up as Jace enters the room. He stands in front of me with pain and debate in his eyes. "We're going on a hunt." He tosses the spear at me and I catch it. "Let's go."

I hold the heavy spear in my hands and marvel at its difference from my own. "Hunting what?" I say without looking up.

"A vampires den. Now let's go."

I follow him out of the room, not quite believing my ears.

-/-

The inside of the pizzeria is dirty and stacked with empty pizza boxes and vegetable crates. Jace and I keep our weapons at the ready watching each other's backs as we move slowly through the pizzeria. We blot up the stairs when we hear a scream and Jace activates his seraph blade at the sight of the vampires feeding.

I quickly stab my spear through the vampire closest to me and pull it out to find the mundane underneath him is already dead. I sigh and start attacking the rest of the vampires, helping Jace and him helping me, we moved as one until all the vampires were dead. The one left standing raised her arms and smiled. "I surrender to the authority of the Clave."

I push the tip of my spear into her chest and Jace and I march her outside. Valentine stands there with his arms crossed, as if waiting for us to kill her. I stand on guard and look him directly in the eye. "She surrendered."

The vampire starts mocking Jace and eventually grabs onto him, I pull the stake from his grasp and stab her heart through the back of her dress. She disintegrates and I stand there looking at where she once stood.

"That's my girl." Valentine coos from behind Jace. I cringe; those are the last three words I want Valentine to say to me.

We hear a gasp and turn at the noise. Clary and Simon are standing with her mother. Jocelyn has a crossbow aimed at the three of us. She shoots at Jace but Valentine puts himself in front of the arrow. She notches another one and before I know what's happening, it hits me right in the ribs. I fall back and watch as Jace gives me an apologetic look and carries Valentine into the portal. Leaving me behind.

I lay my head on the ground and look at the stars, knowing that after my trial with the Clave, I will never see them again.


	17. A Door Into The Dark

Strangely I felt nothing, there was no pain during any of what happened after Jocelyn shot me. It was all numbness, and a feeling of abandonment. Even though I know Valentine is an evil son-of-a-bitch, he still raised me. Not to mention that Jace is like a big brother to me, and he left me there to rescue Valentine.

And now. I'm being held in a cell, underneath the Institute, awaiting my trial that will surely send me to the City of Bones, for the rest of my life. It might not be so bad, to be sent to the City of Bones, I'll have to go numb eventually. Then I won't feel anything, and it won't matter.

I pull my head from my hands as Maryse stands solemnly in front of my glass cage. I smile broadly and stand up, "Well hello mom, mummy, mother dearest. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I am not your mother Elliot. Nor will I ever be, so you can stop with all the talk." She scoffs. "I'm only here to bring you to the trial."

She moves around to where I cannot see her and a door opens. She asks me to hold out my wrist and she places an agony rune on the delicate skin there. It doesn't hurt yet, but I know it will soon.

-/-

Alec and Izzy are the last two people to follow behind the new head of the Institute, Victor Aldertree and his posse.

"You stand accused of treason. And of the wrongful death of a Downworlder. How do you plead?" He starts.

I look around curiously. "Where's the mortal sword? The truth sword. Don't you need it to have a trial?"

He holds up his stele and moves it towards my wrist, which is clamped to a chair. As he get's closer I flinch, and he smiles. "We don't need the mortal sword. Now, how do you plead?"

"Not guilty."

He touches his stele to my wrist and bolts of white-hot fire race across my body. I grit my teeth so hard I'm scared I'll crack them, while my body spasms and jerks. "Let me repeat. How do you plead?" He pulls the stele away from my arm and I slump into the chair.

I subtly turn my head and look at Izzy and Alec. "I am not guilty."

Aldertree sits in front of me and places the stele on the table beside my wrist. He smirks. "I think Isabelle and Alexander should leave."

"If they must."

-/-

I stumble out of the elevator and fall into someone's arms. I look up and I'm looking into Jocelyn's eyes. I push myself out of her grip and balance myself on the wall. "No, go away." I slur.

"I can help you, just let me get you to your room." She steps forward.

I put my hand up, "Where are Alec and Izzy?"

"They left on a mission hours ago." She tells me.

I back away form her. "I'll get to my room myself. Just please tell them to find me when they're back." A tear rolls down my cheek and Jocelyn stares at me sadly.

"I will Elliot. I will."

I careful feel my way along the wall of the Institute until I find the door to my bedroom. I slowly open the door, not wanting to see what it looked like.

A complete mess. I stand there staring for like what feels forever. Instead of bothering to clean it up I curl up onto my bed, shivering and alone. Memories playing over and over in my head.

 _"_ _They don't know what you are, Hodge told us everything."_

 _"_ _He will come to kill you one day."_

 _"_ _Do you really want to live as an immortal, Elliot?"_

I close my eyes tightly and fall into a restless sleep, not knowing if they had placed a listening device in my room.


	18. Parabatai Lost

I wake up and rub my eyes slowly, the events of earlier running through my mind. Aldertree and his torture techniques didn't reveal anything about my time with Valentine other than the fact that everyone now knows that I am the Keeper. I roll over and groan as the remnant pain from the agony rune leeches through and out my body. I stumble out of bed and survey the damage done by the search in my room. My clothes are strewn all over my floor and my spear and throwing knives are missing. I find mostly clean, unwrinkled clothes and pull them on. A pair of fishnet tights and a knee length, forest green dress with pockets. It doesn't really matter that I'm not in fighting clothes; I doubt that I'm going on a mission any time soon.

Magnus wanders past my room and glances at the mess in my floor. "Oh pumpkin." He snaps his fingers and all the clothing is magically places back in my closet and dresser.

"Thanks Magnus. I didn't know how I was going to clean that all up." I tell hit gratefully.

He nods, "Come with me Elliot, there's something you need to see."

I follow Magnus out of my room and we walk silently down the corridor until he slips into Alec's room. I enter hesitantly and gasp at Alec's pale, shaking body on the bed. I rush over and gently touch his forehead.

"What's going on, he's burning up?"

Magnus crosses his arms and looks at Alec with concern. "He tried to track Jace through his parabatai with adamas. He never woke up."

"This is my fault. I did this do him." I say with tears gathering in the corners of my eyes. "I should have pushed Valentine harder to only let me go. I have no parabatai, no one would be able to get hurt tracking me." My hand falls from Alec's and I back up against the wall.

"Elle, no part of this is your fault, it's Valentine's fault that Alec is ill."

I feel a pressure in my hands and the lights are suddenly flickering in the room. I blink at the sudden pricks on my lip as my fangs slide down. "If he doesn't wake up, I'm going to be the one that has killed him."

Magnus slowly walks over to me. "Elliot, embrace it, let the magic flow, let vampire and werewolf senses empower you, don't squash it down and try and fight."

I breathe deeply and feel the fangs recede. I walk over to Alec and put my hand in his. With a sharp pull I'm in a memory of his.

 _Jace and Alec are back to back, both in a fighting stance, listening intently for the demon._

 _"_ _Almost there." Jace says steadily. Barely a hint of fear in his voice. "We can't get cocky."_

 _"_ _What do you mean we?" Alec asks._

 _Jace turns around with a smirk on his face. "You think I'm cocky?" He laughs and walks away from Alec. "It's not my fault that I'm naturally gifted." He turns around after walking a few feet away and smiles at Alec. "That's what makes us a great team. I draw them out and you-"_

 _Jace is cut off as the demon comes up behind him. Jace doesn't flinch as Alec quickly notches an arrow and shoots the demon._

 _"_ _Do all the work?" Alec says jokingly._

 _The simulation turns off around them and they're standing in the middle of the training room._

 _"_ _Like I said, we make a great team." Jace says happily, giving Alec a hug._

 _Alec smiles. "The best team."_

 _"_ _You realize this is our final test right?" Jace says pulling away. "Once we get our parabatai runes we'll officially be brothers. Nothing can change that." Jace turns away. "Hey, let's go tell Izzy and Elliot."_

 _Alec looks worried. "Yeah, sure."_

Something forces me from his memory and I look up at Magnus, who's making a potion.

"What was that?" I ask him with wonder in my eyes.

"You tell me pumpkin."

-/-

Magnus continues to try and make Alec well again with magic, and I stand against the wall watching him. Raj is guarding the door, muttering something under his breath, and it's starting to get annoying. Magnus leans in to whisper something to Alec, and after getting no response he knocks some objects off the nightstand.

"You know you're going to have to clean that up." Raj says with a hint of superiority in his voice. Magnus just gives him a dirty look and turns back to Alec.

"I feel you man, but I have direct orders. If you can't help him, then you need to go." I watch Raj step closer to Magnus.

"My magic is the only thing keeping Alec from completely slipping away. I won't leave." Magnus tells him.

I move from my stance and the wall and stand next to Magnus. I cross my arms and stare at Raj. "He's not leaving."

Raj ignores me and turns back to Magnus. "I know you're old, but I didn't realize you were hard of hearing. He's clearly not waking up anytime soon, so you can leave. Now, or I can remove you myself."

Magnus and I simultaneously wave our hands towards Raj and an orange/yellow rope of magic winds its way around his neck slowly strangling him.

"I'm sorry, I don't like being rushed." Magnus tells him and puts his other hand around my wrist, telling me to let go, once I do, he gives a pulse of magic that pushes Raj into the wall. Just as Izzy walks through the door.

"Magnus stop." She says quickly. Stopping him from going closer to Raj. "We need to get Alec out of here, but this isn't helping."

She let's go of him as he agrees and I cross my arms silently, wondering what plan Izzy might have come up with.

-/-

Izzy and I are sitting on the edge of Alec's bed when Aldertree walks into the room.

"Still no improvement?" He asks.

Izzy stares at him with calm anger. "Happy now?"

Victor shakes his head and paces around the room. "Not at all. Alec's one of our best, be a shame to lose him."

I hold Alec's hand as Izzy stands up to fight Alder tree. "We're not going to lose him." We say together.

Aldertree looks at me blankly. "So confident. Almost too confident."

He walks behind Izzy and waves his stele over Alec's arm. The glamour disappears and Raj is left in his place.

"Well." He turns to face Izzy, leaving his back facing me. "That's unfortunate."

"When are you going to realize that Jace is on our side?"

He looks at Izzy smugly. "Our side doesn't murder werewolves."

Before I can hear the end of his sentence, I quietly conjure a portal into Magnus's apartment and step through. Not giving Aldertree time to follow me.

-/-

Jace laughs when Alec finishes the parabatai oath, not fully waking up, but he's not comatose any longer. I stay towards the back of the family crowd, and hope Alec doesn't notice that I'm here. Although, I shouldn't hope that, when the person I'm avoiding has heightened senses.


	19. Day of Wrath

Alec motions for me to come towards him, "Elliot, come here already."

I sit on the floor next to the couch and smile gingerly at him. " How're you feeling?"

"I feel a lot better now, Magnus told me that you never left my side" He holds out his hand.

"Well how could I when it's partially my fault." I grab his hand and look at the floor. "I shouldn't have left Jace follow me, I should have fought harder against Valentine. You wouldn't have been in the situation if I had just fought harder." A tear slips down my cheek. "I'm so sorry Alec."

His finger brushes the tear away. "None of this is your fault. I would have put myself in this position even if it was just you. You're my sister Elliot, and I would do anything to save you."

-/-

"They're going to hurt him." I say sadly.

Izzy shakes her head. "No they won't, not like what they did to you. Jace is in the City of Bones, not in Aldertree's torture chair. They might drive him crazy, but they won't hurt him physically."

"We have to do something." I walk towards Magnus's balcony.

"There's nothing that we can do, until the Clave makes a decision." Izzy reasons.

I turn towards her, my eye's turning bright blue. "There's always something I can do."

-/-

I have not missed a single target since I first walked into the training room. There is a throwing knife in the center of every single one. _Stupid Valentine. Stupid demon blood. Stupid dumb responsibility. I don't want to be the freaking Keeper._ With every thought a knife lodges in a target. I notice that Clary is watching me throw. I try and ignore her so I can stay in my flow, but then she starts to walk towards me.

I gesture towards her with the knife. "Stay the hell away from me."

She raises her hands. "I'm here to apologise."

"Your mother shot me with a crossbow. Why are you apologising?" I roll my eyes and turn back towards the targets.

She steps towards me. "She won't. She still thinks that she did the right thing."

"Well maybe she did!" My anger seeps into my voice.

 _Jonathan throws himself onto my bed._

" _What do you want?" I ask with indifference in my tone._

" _I want cookies."_

 _I roll my eyes. "Go get them yourself."_

" _But Valentine won't like it." He complains. Jonathan stands up. "You're no fun."_

" _Just get out, I don't want to be punished just because you want cookies."_

 _He stands up and opens my door, "Aww, little baby is scared of Valentine." He coos, mockingly._

 _I slam my door in his face, "I'm not scared."_

I blink slowly, I hadn't had a flashback in a long time. I remind myself not to loose my shit in front of Clary. "Just go away please, and leave me to my knives."

-/-

"You're taking Clary with you!" I yell.

They shrug. "You aren't allowed out on missions yet and Jace is in the City of Bones, What did you want us to do, go alone? Alec asks.

"It's not like you couldn't handle it. It's one demon." I say loudly.

Izzy wraps an arm around my waist, "Relax, you'll be back out with us in no time."

I pull away from her. "Screw this, I'm coming with you guys. Clary can barely even swing a sword."

"Aldertree won't like this, I have to insist that you stay here." Alec says from the doorway.

I laugh and fold my spear into my pocket. "Since when do I care what Aldertree likes. Let's go."

-/-

I kneel next to the dead mundanes body with Izzy. "Well this is one nasty demon" She says.

"Punched a hole right through him, poor guy." I add.

Luke looks at the body. "With that kind of strength I doubt it's done yet." He guesses.

Alec walks over to us. "There's nothing in the immediate area."

Izzy and I stand up. "We're taking the body back to the Institute, I'll run some tests to see what kind of demon we're dealing with." She says.

"Clary, Elliot and I will widen the perimeter." Alec tells Luke.

"Fray!" He yells, "We've got a demon to hunt. Come on."

I fall into step beside him as he yells commands at Clary. This is going to be a good night.

-/-

"What's going on?" I say as the last person to get to the training hall. I look past everyone at the body on the floor. "Just like the mundane."

Alec and I look at each other. "The demons in the Institute." We say.

We all run to the OPs centre. "Activate emergency surveillance. Victor's unreachable." Lydia tells us. "I've ordered the Institute be put on quarantine until we find this thing."

"I don't get it." Clary says. "How did the demon get past the wards?"

Izzy fidgets with her demon necklace, "The same way it got past this. It must have some advanced cloaking ability. It hid in that dead body and let us do the rest."

"I don't get it." Clary says as she straps daggers to her ankle. "I didn't know demons could do that."

"Until now they couldn't." I tell her, strapping a seraph blade to my thigh.

"This new form possession, cloaking ability, targeting the Institute, it's-"

"Valentine." Clary finished Alec's sentence.

They glance over at me. "Let's kill this demon, and deal with Valentine after." I say with cool anger. I walk out of the armoury, knowing they were going to talk about Valentine's 'experiments'.

"I'll take the Lower floors." I yell back at Lydia, hoping she won't object.

-/-

Izzy flicks the whip from her wrist and slowly walks towards me. I pull out my spear and run my finger over the head to make sure the point is blunt.

"Izzy stop, this is just the demon. Please, you don't have to do this." I back away from her slowly.A pain blitzes through my chest, "Izzy, Valentine has the Soul Sword. Please stop this. You can fight this."

Alec and Clary walk into the training hall. Izzy looks over at them. "Izzy Jocelyn's dead." Alec tells her.

She raises her whip and knocks me off my feet. "It's not Izzy!" I tell him.

Clary comes up behind her and stabs a small knife into her shoulder. Izzy tries to throw Clary off but she's got a strong hold. When Clary pulls the knife out the demon comes out of the wound in a cloud of smoke. Izzy falls to the ground while Clary pulls out a seraph blade and banishes the demon back to Edom. Alec holds Izzy and begins to draw a healing rune on her arm. Clary staggers over to a bench and sits down. Right then Jace and Simon walk into the room and Simon immediately bolts over to Clary. I look over at Jace and see bewilderment in his eyes. I push past him and walk out of the training hall before he can try and talk to me.

No one tries to stop me after what's happened today.


	20. Author's Note

Author's Note:

I know I haven't been updating my stories and I am very sorry, school has been kicking my ass and I have a lot to keep up with. Recently I broke my wrist while playing rugby and it is very hard to type. I want to continue with the stories that I have because I want to finish what I started, the problem is that I have started watching new shows and I want to write fanfictions for them too.

I am sorry for not updating sooner and I promise I'm not forgetting these fictions, I'm just human and I really cannot do as much until my wrist heals.

Please bear with me! You guys are awesome!


	21. Dust and Shadows

After the events of today I want nothing more than to sit in bed and listen to music, although working out would be good too. There's nothing more helpful after a rough day than throwing punches at something that won't fight back. So I change into a pair of back leggings and a distressed white tank top. I know it might be cold in the New York streets so I pull on a pale yellow hoodie. I slip out the front doors of the Institute and start my run.

I jog down the streets of New York heading towards central park. I pull my phone out my my pocket and dial Norah. After three rings she picks up.

"Hello?"

I smile. "Norah, come running with me. I'm in central park."

"Why? It's so far away?"

I stop jogging and lean against a tree. "Just meet me. You've got five before I take off again."

"Oh, alright."

I hang up the phone and watch my breath cloud in front of my face and watch other people walk past. I wonder what they're all thinking about. What kind of day each of them has had, and what brought them to the park today.

Norah interrupts my thoughts with a small shove against my shoulder. "Alright, I'm here. Let's go."

We both run down the paths in central park, not talking, just enjoying each other's company. Norah knows me well enough that she doesn't push me into talking. I know her well enough that I know when to pry. It's why we work so well together.

-/-

"During the attack on the City of Bones, Jace Wayland fought bravely. And thus the Clave and their wisdom has exonerated him from all crimes. And the chief physician in Idris reports that Lydia Branwells condition continues to improve" Aldertree tells us stoically.

"Out of the infirmary in record time. Looking good." Jace tells Izzy. I roll my eyes at his comment.

She shrugs. "I always look good." They both smile. "Why isn't Alec here?" She asks out loud.

"He needs some space."

"We face a new threat, Valentine has the Mortal Cup and now possesses the Soul Sword." Aldertree's eyes burn into me. "Two of the three Mortal Instruments." A small voice inside my head yells ' _Four! There are four.'_ But I squish it down and don't think anything about it.

"Our mission now is to find out what he plans to do with them and when."

I stop listening and slowly stride out of the ops centre. If Aldertree wants to blame me for Valentine getting the Sword then he can find me and tell me himself.

-/-

I lean against Alec's doorway and watch him pace around his room. "Come train with me, it's been so long."

He looks at me with a blank stare and shrugs. "I'm trying to avoid Clary."

"I know, but wasting away in your room until you die will not do anyone any good." I gesture out the door. "Let's get a move on."

He follows me down the hallway and into the training room. There is nobody there thankfully so we can talk and work out. I grab two bo-staffs off the rack and throw one at him. He catches it and stares at it strangely. "What?"

He positions himself in a defense stance and turns to face me. "I haven't used a staff in what feels like forever."

"I know." I smile. "I thought it would be good to shake things up a bit."

I swing the staff down against my hip assuming an aggressive stance, and slowly shuffle towards him. "You need to talk to her." I bring my staff down against his with a satisfying crack.

"I don't know what to say to her." He twirls the staff so mine is caught and pushes me backwards. "I killed her mother."

I smack him in the small of his back and then behind his knees. "You were possessed by a demon, you had no control of your actions."

Alec brings his staff above his head to block my down-swing. "And yet I still cannot face her." He turns around to look at me. "What do I do Eli?"

I hold the bo-staff and put my hand on my hip. "You go make sure that she is okay, and that she isn't going to make any stupid mistakes."

Alec nods and stands up. "Okay." He hands me his bo-staff and grimaces. "I'm going to go."

I wave as he walks away. "Just remember big brother, you had no control, and now you do."

-/-

I open my phone and scroll down to Magnus's contact. I call him hoping he will pick up. It rings three times before he answers it.

"Well hello pumpkin, long time no talk. But I have a feeling that this isn't a social call."

"I'm sorry Magnus, but it isn't. I have a feeling that Alec is not doing what he told me he would be doing."

"Do you think he's here?"

"I hope he is, so you can talk to him. He's beating himself up over what happened to Jocelyn."

"I'll talk to him about it pumpkin. Have no fear, Magnus is here."

I smile into the phone even though Magnus can't see it. "Thank you."

"Don't worry my dear, I'll take care of him."

-/-

Before I even knock on Magnus's door it opens, just like always. I slowly walk into his apartment and sit down in a chair. "I take it Alec's left?"

Magnus wonders out of a room and mixes us a drink. "Yes, he just left to talk to Clary."

"Thanks again, I couldn't get through to him. I'm glad you did though." I take the martini from Magnus. "Cheers."

I twirl my fingers and produce a string of purple smoke and sparks, Magnus watching me intently.

"Is there something wrong pumpkin?" He asks gently.

I look up at him with tears in my eyes. "I'm going to have to watch them all die, every single one."

He sits down next to me and holds my hand in his own. "This may not be a comfort, but you won't have to watch me die, not for a very, very long time."

"How do you do it?"

He grimaces. "You never really do, I'm sorry to say. There's no way, unless you distance yourself from each of them."

"I couldn't do that to them." I shake my head. Leaning against his shoulder.

He brushes my hair. "We will figure this out Elliot. But it is still a long way off yet. I do not think Jace or Alec or Isabelle have any plans to die in the near future."

"Maybe not, but we don't control fate."


	22. Iron Sisters

"And where have you been?" Izzy asks me.

I slink into the ops centre and sit down next to Alec. "I went to talk with Magnus, did anything interesting happen?"

My siblings look at each other and grimace. "Yes, but you should be glad you missed it." Alec tells me.

Izzy laughs. "Some crazy warlock tried to get a demon to impregnate Clary so there would a shadowhunter, warlock combo baby."

"You're right, I am glad I got to miss that. If it didn't sound so dangerous I would have never let her live it down."

-/-

I will admit that the canopy of my bed is not the most interesting thing to stare at, but I've had nothing else to do for a long while now. Clary and Isabelle are off at the Citadel visiting the Iron Sisters, and I can't go because demonic energies aren't allowed in the heart of the Citadel. Alec is off with Magnus, which is good for both of them, to have time alone that isn't spent talking about Institute business. I could gp find Jace, but Aldertree has been watching him like a hawk recently and I don't want to make things harder for him than they already are.

So here I am, staring at the top of my bed, daydreaming about missions and fighting demons. I've been training so often that every target in the Institute has had one of my throwing knives directly in the centre, I had to send my spear in to get the tip fixed and re-sharpened, and I've broken three different punching bags in both of the training rooms.

"Nothing on the Soul Sword yet?"

I startle and sit up staring at Aldertree as he stands in my doorway. "No, I felt nothing even when it was taken."

"Strange. You knew when the Mortal Cup was taken, didn't you?" He wanders into room and stops by my bed.

"Yes but Valentine was using it to turn mundanes into shadowhunters. It was being utilised. I assume that if he using the Soul Sword to do horrible things then I'll know."

He crosses his arms. "Or maybe, you have felt something, and you just haven't told anyone."

"And why the hell would I do that?" I stand up to face him directly.

"Because you're still helping Valentine? Because you have more than just shadowhunter blood flowing through your veins and we can't truly know who you stand with."

I know he's just trying to get a reaction out of me so he can throw me into a cell again, but it's still a blow to hear that I can't be trusted because of something I cannot control. "I am a shadowhunter, clearly or I would have been gone a long time ago."

"Then you won't need this." He places a glass of blood on my bedside table. "If you are purely a shadowhunter then it won't bother you to leave this glass of blood alone."

I feel my fangs slide into my lip, drawing blood. There's a strong pull coming from the cup, and I remember Magnus telling me what would happen if I didn't have a glass regularly. And I can't remember the last time I drank blood. "You cannot be serious."

Aldertree smiles and I really want to hurt him. "Deadly."

I lean towards the cup and reach forward, I know that I'll be proving him right if I drink, but I don't have a choice. I grab the glass and bring it to my lips, slowly taking long sips of the tangy blood. Aldertree smirks. "So, purely shadowhunter are you? I think you should give me your stele."

I draw away from him. "No, what if I need it."

"Believe me, you won't. Now hand it over Elliot, there doesn't need to be a fight here."

I reach into my pocket and pull out my stele, gently handing it over to him. "When will I get it back?"

He walks to my doorway and begins to pull the door shut. "If it's up to me, you never will. Have a good night."

My door closes and I bolt up and try to open it again. The door is locked and no matter how hard I push it will not open. I put my back to the door and sink to the ground, the half finished cup of blood still in my grasp. I frown and chug it down anyway, knowing no one will come find me for a while, all my siblings are gone, and there's no one left to look.

AN: Just a short filler chapter since not much happened in this episode, thanks for sticking with the story even though I have not been uploading regularly. My wrist is healed and it's summer break so I hope to get close to finishing this fanfic by the end of the summer. Thank you so much for your kind reviews and your messages, they mean a lot. xoxo


	23. How Are Thou Fallen

Since no one is answering their phones I am going to have to make my own way out of this damn room. I try to remember everything Magnus has told me or said about making a portal.

 _Imagine where you want to go, how the ground feels, what it smells like, what the air tastes like. And then you just conjure one up._

Oh yeah, sounds real simple. I think about Magnus's loft, about the soft carpets and the sometimes squeaky floorboard underneath the coffee table. How it smells like cinnamon and a mixture of two different colognes, and it always has a musty smell to it from all of the relics. I feel most at home there and I close my eyes, motioning in a circle, trying to work up the warlock powers from deep within me. Slowly sparks start to form in my hand and a small slowly whirling portal takes place in front of me. I take a deep breath and step through, immediately falling flat on my face.

I groan and stand up, my mouth drops as I spot Jace and a mystery girl in his bed. "Erm, sorry I-I'm just gonna, yeah-"

I quickly open the door and step out into the living room, gaping at Magnus and Alec seemingly right before a kiss. "Not you two too. I cannot handle all this sexual tension."

They break apart and stare at me. "Where did you come from?" Alec asks.

I shrug and look towards my feet. "I accidentally made a portal through the roof of the room Jace is staying in right now and I uh, yeah. You can probably fill it in for yourself."

"I haven't had a roommate this brazen since, well since Casanova spent the night in the palace." Magnus remarks, hearing the laughter coming from Jace's room.

Alec looks at him weirdly, "Casanova?" Magnus turns to him starting to reassure him but Alec puts out his hand. "I'll talk to Jace, he can't stay here forever."

I cross my arms and give Magnus a meek look. "Maybe Jace can't… but can I?"

"What?" They both turn to me, worry and curiosity clouding both of their eyes.

"It's not really a big deal and a super long story that neither of you have time for but, please?" I walk up to Magnus and wrap my arms around his shoulders.

He pats my hand. "Of course pumpkin, but I shall need to hear this long story, and I imagine Alec does as well." He snaps his fingers and suddenly we can't hear Jace or his mystery girl, and the radio turns on playing a fun beat."Nothing a little magic can't fix."

"Oh god, I ruined such a perfect Malec moment, I'll never forgive myself." I smile at the two men and flop onto the couch.

Alec grabs Magnus's hand and brushes a small kiss against his knuckles. "Don't worry Elliot, I'm sure there will be plenty more time for us to spend together without you."

They both sit down next to each other and watch me. "You are stalling, spill." Magnus says point blank.

I take a deep breath. "Okay so Aldertree brought a cup of blood into my room and told me that if I was really a shadowhunter I wouldn't drink it but I was really really thirsty apparently so I couldn't stop myself and he took away my stele and said I would never get it back and then he locked me in my room?"

I watch them both process the long one breath sentence I just spewed out.

"You haven't been drinking blood?"

"He permanently took away your stele?"

They both ask me questions at the same time and it's hard not to laugh, even though it's not a laughing matter.

"No I have not been drinking blood, I have not had time and I don't want to ask Raphael. And I don't know Alec, he took my stele and said that if it were up to him I wouldn't get it back." I shrug. "Also I portalled out of a locked room so I can definitely not go back any time soon or he may send me to the cells."

Magnus stands up and pours me a martini, himself a rum and coke and Alec a glass of water. "Of course you can stay here pumpkin."

"Thanks Magnus, I really appreciate it."

Alec stares at me for a second. "Wait, you made a portal?"

I just shrug. "Apparently."

-/-

"Drink it Elliot, don't be difficult."

"I'm not being difficult Magnus I just have to learn how to live without it." I stand on the opposite side of the couch to him, trying to avoid catching the smell of the blood in the martini glass he's holding.

"You cannot live without it. And you need to accept that now. Before you get hurt, or before you hurt someone else!"

My voice cracks. "Magnus, I-I just can't."

He walks around the side of the couch and I turn away from him so he can't see my fangs when I catch the smell of the blood. I hear him put the glass down and he places his hands on my shoulders. "You can do this Elliot. I believe in you."

I can feel tears build up in my eyes and I turn, burying my face into his jacket. He rubs my back and we just stand like that for a while, not knowing where to go next.

-/-

"Raphael, it feels like it's been forever. How are things?" I ask the vampire sitting next to me in the Hunters Moon.

He smiles slightly. "It's been easier without Camille for sure. I'll be the first to admit I was surprised when you called."

"Yeah, me too." I take a big sip of the vodka cranberry on the bar in front of me. "I was definitely shocked too."

"So why did you call. Not that it wasn't nice to hear from you."

I grimace. "I need to set up a personal account with you, or your blood supplier."

Raphael orders another round for us. "This is a purely business venture?"

"Watch yourself." I smile to let him know the comment is a joke.

He leans against the bar. "Magnus told me you might get in touch, that you've been skipping drinks."

"More like avoiding all together." I mutter under my breath.

He frowns disapprovingly at me. "You can't be doing that. I know it seems like not a big deal Elliot, but we've already established that your second most dominant blood type is vampire. What do you think is going to happen if you keep depriving yourself."

"Save it Raphael, I really do not need another lecture today. Magnus already gave me an earful." I pay for our drinks and stand up. "So can you set it up or not?"

"Of course, I'll call you with the details."

I start walking towards the door. "Thanks, I'm staying with Magnus so just make sure you use his address. It would be awkward if the Institute started receiving blood shipments."

He waves as I walk out onto the New York streets. It feels like it's been ten years since I have stepped outside.

-/-

I hold up a hand to stop Magnus before he can ask me how the outing with Raphael went and I walk right into my room. I fall onto the bed and stare up at the ceiling. I hear Alec come in and him and Magnus having a talk. I smirk and turn up the volume on my radio as they go into Magnus's room.

I can't help but think, finally.


	24. Love Is A Devil

"Magnus!" I yell into the apartment warily.

He twirls into my room and his jaw drops. "Pumpkin… you blew a hole through my wall."

"I'm sorry! I don't know what happened. I was trying on new outfits and-and I, well I sneezed." I try to explain, stuttering through the end.

Magnus laughs at the mess I've made and with a wave of his hand the wall is returned to normal. "Maybe it's time I teach you a few things about your magic."

He waves a hand to clean off the outfit I magicked up for myself and I smile. It's a light blue corduroy skirt and a white lace crop top with billowing sleeves. "Thanks Magnus." I respond as I follow him into the living room.

I make for the fridge hoping to find some leftover pizza from last night while Magnus goes to open the door for whomever is knocking. I hear a conversation in the hallway and only once I recognize the second voice as Alec do I go to jump in.

"I'm sure I'll love Max, but Maryse? That woman hates me." Magnus tells Alec belatedly.

I lean my head against my older brothers shoulder. "That woman hates everyone in the Downworld. What about Max?" I ask as Alec wraps an arm around my shoulders and gives me a comforting side hug.

"I'm asking Magnus to throw the party for Max's rune ceremony." Alec catches me up.

I smile. "Max is getting his first rune? That's so exciting!" I frown as information catches up with me. "Why isn't Robert throwing his party."

"Dad is busy with Clave business. So I'm asking Magnus to throw it here." Alec tells me, keeping his pleading eyes on Magnus.

I look over at him and put on my puppy dog eyes too. "Please? Maryse will get to know you better, and it would be good for her to see you two together."

Magnus sighs and admits defeat. "I'd better get to work then."

-/-

"I don't know if I can be there Alec." I pace up and down Magnus's hallway. "She wouldn't want me there."

Alec scoffs and shakes his head. "She doesn't know what she wants."

"She hates me! Alec, she hates me." I don't mean to yell but it comes out anyway. "I am the monster she helped create and she can't bear the thought of having anything to do with me."

Jace walks into the room quickly. "What's with the yelling?"

"Ellicat thinks mom hates her. And she's thinking about ducking out of Max's rune ceremony." Alec tells him angrily.

Jace shakes his head. "You have to face her some time Elle."

"But does it have to be tonight?" Worry grips my heart and floods my veins. "I don't want to ruin the party."

They both look at me concerned. "You aren't going to be ruining anything." Jace assures me.

"If anything Max would be upset if he knew you weren't coming, and that really would ruin the party." Alec reminds me of our little brother.

I throw up my hands in defeat. "Fine, I'll go magic up a dress, you get out of here."

-/-

I settle on a navy maxi dress, the pale fabric sweeping the floor with a yellow satin bow tied around my waist to give it a bit of shape. My brown hair is tied up loosely in a braid crown with a few tendrils framing my face. I step out of my room right as the party picks up and I hear spanish music flowing around the room.

"I'm worried the empanadas are soggy, I gave the chef specific instructions-" I can hear Magnus worrying so I float over to my host and give him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Everything looks amazing." I say as I give a quick spin and head over to the bar to avoid the impending Maryse.

I pick up a manhattan and close my eyes quickly. "You're avoiding your issues." Jace reminds me.

"Nope, I'm getting just drunk enough to deal with them." I tell his, taking another deep sip.

Jace shakes his head. "Elle, you can't be doing this now." He chokes a bit on his beer. "She's coming over here."

"I don't have time to run." I hiss at Jace, angry he didn't give me more warning.

"Elliot. I didn't think I would see you here tonight." I hear Maryse goad.

I turn and give her a bright smile. "I just wanted to support my brother." My smile drops. "If you want me to go, I will. If it would make you happier."

She grins ear to ear. "I think that would be best. This is a family affair after all."

"I thought I was family." I say, my voice cracking at the end.

She shakes her head and pats me on the shoulder. "You have no family Elliot. None at all. Alec and Izzy barely tolerate you, and Magnus, well his feelings are clear to everyone but you apparently."

She turns away from me and rejoins the party. I take a deep breath and try to hold in my tears. Slowly I leave my glass on the bar and start to walk towards the door, no one tries to stop me and I make it out of the apartment successfully.

As I walk towards the stairs I wave my hand over my body to change my outfit into something more mobile. My dress turns into a pair of faux-leather tights and a black button up.

-/-

"Elliot. What are you doing here?" Raphael asks me gently as he brushes the tears off my cheeks.

I lean into his hand and smile sadly. "I'm alone Raphael. Well and truly alone."

"Magnus called me, asking me to let him know if you came here." He tells me.

I let out a sob. "Magnus doesn't care about me, none of them do."

"He also told me you would say that." He brings his hand away from my cheek but doesn't let go of my hand. "There was another warlock that was causing everyone to hallucinate."

I pull my hand out of his and turn away. "But Maryse-"

"Never said those things to you, Jace knocked her unconscious earlier in the night." Raphael reaches out for me. "Let me walk you back to Magnus's so he can remove the spell.

I nod slowly and take his hand.

-/-

"To the Angel I entrust my life, and vow to uphold the laws of heaven."

Max walks down the center aisle and passes by me and Izzy in matching blue dresses, we both give him smiles of encouragement as he meets Alec up at the altar.

"I take this mark to honour him, to bring his light into me. And vow to uphold the laws of heaven so I may join the ranks of the shadowhunters."

All of his family stands at his side as he finishes his vows, everyone with their heads held high and a proud look on all our faces.

"The guardians of peace."

The Silent Brother draws Max's rune on his forearm and I walk over to congratulate him.


End file.
